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i LIBRARY 0F_C0N(1RESS, t 

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^UNITED'STATES OF AMEK1CA.| 



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An E 



XPERIMENTAL REATISE 



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ON THE 



i^.^^oTs ^^ONrxD Ti3:]E o:f^ies 



L IFE. 



By SAMUEL GODSMARK. 



FIRST EDITION. 



lew ¥ot|k ; 



RUSSELL BROTHERS, 28, 30, 32 Centre Street. 

1871. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

SAMUEL GODSMARK, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



PREFACE 




HE Author 7s aware that the literary market is such 
as might well retard an obscure individual from 
adding torts superabundant commodities, from the 
fact that the public taste is so nearly satiated that 
it is difficult to pefsuade the generality to peruse, much 
less purchase a publication ushered into the world under 
humble auspices, especially when it savors of the 
''poetical:' 

Poetry, although the highest order of literature — in which 
the grandest, holiest and purest sentiments of human nature 
are most perfectly mirrored, and every phase and aspect of life 
delineated in the most entrancing characters — is the most 
abused. The "Muse " appears to dispense her favors with 
a profuse hand, so far as quantity is concerned, but quality 
is essentially lacking, and although an " originality " may 
be claimed, it mostly consists in decking ancient, well 
worn sentiments in a different dress. True originalty must 



IV PREFACE. 

emanate directly from the brain and hearty its pictures be 
drawn from the ever changing scenes of actual experience^ 
and the mind aim at producing something entirely nezu, and 
upon subjects imi7iediately occupying the attention of a 
practical age^ and from which something of utility may be 
deduced. 

This I have endeavored to do m this little preliminary 
zvork^ but as many might ascribe my motive in publishing 
to a desire for fame, on an egotistic assumption of ability , 
I may remark that it grew out of adverse circumstances y 
and that two months ago I had no intention of publishing 
this or any other book, but yielded to the persuasion of a few 
personal friends — to whom, together zoith all who have so 
readily subscribed, to the work, I tender my hearty thanks. 

With these fezo remarks I leave the issue in the hands of 
my readers. If there be sufficient merit in my humble pro- 
duction to entitle it to a second edition I zuill greatly 
enlarge it, and present it m an infinitely superior form 
in every respect. 

SAMUEL GODSMARK. 

318 East 49th St., N. Y. ) 
January, 1871. ) 




^% 

ND SUCH IS life! " TliesG mournful words, tho' brief, 
Wrung from self-suffering or from others' grief, 
Q^ Which greet the careless ear, and pass away 
^ ©) Swift as electric light; their purport may 
Embrace and concentrate the mightiest fact, 
With every potent principle intact. 
'^And such is Life!" These simple words convey 
That each immortal soul a debt must pay 
To destiny — a tribute sternly great — 
And bow before the mystic shrine of Fate. 

So, ye wayward, wandering child of earth. 
Wedded to worldly joys and transient mirth, 
Absorbed in aerial dreams or vain desire. 
Trim now thy mortal lamp ere it expire; 
Then turn its ra3^s, that they may penetrate 
And radiate^ the mystery of thy state — 
That Life, in every vacillating view, 
May teacli thy pond'ring reason sometliing new. 
And ope the channels of immortal thought 
To trace the hues with which that life is frauurht. 



■■&' 



Aye ! ponder well, for Life is l)ut a dream, 
Tho' mortals all so tangible may deem, 



6 Life, 

And ere the eye perceive shall fade away, 

And as a swift, a momentary ray, 

Dart to the zenith of its mortal span 

And wrest the treasure only lent to man ; 

Then, when to grand reality thou wake, 

What wilt thou offer — what reward will take ? 

Thou knowest not ! then read Life's transcript o'er, 

'Tis in its casket — man can learn no more — 

And by an inspiration, grand, sublime, 

Thy soul will soar beyond the realms of Time. 

The paths of life which holy feet have trod, 
When God in man in mystic union stood, 
Still bear the impress of Life's mighty laws, 
Which prove its mission — its effect and cause. 
Untarnished by the touch of past events — 
Ever the same which it now represents. 

We live to die, and hence we live to share 
A nobler portion in a holier sphere, 
Or to resign our fleeting mortal breath 
To hdpeless life, in everlasting death. 
Judge which is best, and seek thy choice to gain 
While still a spark of earthly light remain. 

Tho' joys of earth may captivate thy mind 
And seeming fair — in tasting thou wilt find 
That bitterness will blend, and prove the whole, 
So sweet to sense, as poison to the soul. 

Pleasure ! the igniiifatuus of human life, 
In which so many mortals seek relief 



Life. 7 

From irksome burdens and distressing cares, 

Tho' yielding wheat is overrun with tares, 

And few there be who can detect the cheat 

Which hires the soul to treach'rous Pleasure's feet; 

Whose phantom joys, and false insidious sweets, 

Will turn to gall, e'en while the victim eats. 

Thus, the animal desires of Nature, 

When licensed as our favorite teacher, 

Will guide us from the paths true pleasures tread, 

And follow that of sensual joys instead; 

Which, teeming with excitement, warm Desire 

Spreads wide her pinions, that she may admire, 

From dizzy altitudes of fleshly lust. 

The beauteous tints which gild but crumbling rust, 

And dazzled by the view — infatuated 

With its brilliant charms, nor satiated 

With all the draughts of pois'nous nectar sipped — 

Will still soar on until her wings are clipped, 

And outraged Nature dies within the arms 

Of that which seemed to wear e'erlasting charms. 

Excess and dissipation, which attend 

The world's " Elysium," and so swiftly blend 

With all the tainted atmosphere of crime, 

Which makes a hideous carnival of time. 

Distort the beauties and the joys of earth, 

Will be avenged by Him who gave them birth. 

And restitution here or else in Hades 

Will be demanded from all sects and grades. 

Pleasure abused will vindicate its name, 
And turn all false delight to withering shame, 



8 . Life. 

And tliiLs will teach a lesson bard to learn; 

Then ope' another page — still hard to turn — 

In which experience is there portrayed 

To guide an erring soul from whence it strayed, 

And bitter truth illusion will destroy 

But to refill the cup with truer joy. 

While mortal life retains its transient power 

We must be scholars to each passing hour, 

For every age, tho' but a moment's span, 

Receives a destiny ere it began, 

And, as we gain in years, expanding views 

Progressive elements must e'er infuse. 

So, when one problem 's solved and myst'ry 's plain, 

Another question takes the stand again. 

Thus Life remains a vast prolific book. 

At which some men scarce deign to take a look. 

Except thro' spectacles of tinted glass, 

Or with the reasoning instinct of an ass. 

Which will ascribe the wond'rous works of Nature 

To less creative power than vests the creature; 

Stigmatize an infinite conception, 

Its grand design, beginning and completion, 

As chance affairs. Because they can't conceive 

Its mighty purport, therefore disbelieve; 

Because their minds are not omnipotent, 

Deem the great mystery as impotent. 

And strive to waive the just decrees of Death 

By hell-born, foetid, Atheistic breath. 

Without belief, without a consolation 

That mortal life is only on probation; 

Without a gleam of hope — of power divine — 

By which their souls may ponder, and define 



Life. 

Their niisHiun here, their state wlien Death demands 
What good they have to give from empty hands. 

Man, the mighty work of God's creation, 
Fills the highest place in earthly station; 
All living things beside are 'neath his rule, 
Because his breast alone embalms a soul; 
'Tis he alone whose tongue can warble songs 
Of gratitude to Him to whom belongs 
The whole expanse of earth. Whose mighty mind 
Gave vivid light and life to all mankind. 
Inspired his soul witli power to thread the maze 
Of human life, and rapt'rously to gaze 
With solemn awe upon that lumid star 
Which sheds immortal lustre from afar. 
And pointing hence, thro' mysteries of space, 
Bids Keason follow at an humble pace, 
And tho' it fail to penetrate the gloom 
Which shrouds the hidden pathway from the tomlj, 
To accept the oft'erings of his spirit 
And ask no more than mortal can inherit. 

'Tis true that Life is only shared by man, 
And e'en is shorter in its given si)an 
Than many brutes'; but should men thus deduce 
That geese and serpents find a holier use 
For their })oisonous fangs and cackling tongues 
In some bright sphere, whicli after death belongs 
To souls of ca/s and monkeys' chatt'ring ghosts, 
With all the motly groups of canine hosts. 

'' But why," men often ask, " should not it be 'i 
" Can we believe in what ive cannot see ? . 

1* 



1 o Life. 

'' If we have souls, then why should God deny 

" To other living things like destiny — 

" Make we alone the heirs to joys divine, 

" And as immortals us alone design V 

We answer thus : That to man was given, 

By the Almighty senateship of heaven, 

A lease of power o'er all creation's span, 

From the first hour his term of life began. 

O'er beasts of every name and every grade, 

Which for his instruments were solely made; 

Whether for sustenance or for employment, 

For luxury or moderate enjoyment. 

Quadrupeds receive their brief existence 

That all human life may have subsistence. 

The mind and body need some sustenance. 

For death must needs result from abstinence. 

And animal and vegetable food, 

Dead or alive, is nothing more than food. 

Devoid of intellect the brute has instinct. 

While man has both, and each is quite distinct. 

Instinct must teach to live, but knows not why 

It has existence, or that it must die, 

And nothing but instinctive intuition 

Leads an animal to fill its mission. 

This earth was formed for man, and aninuil 

And vegetable life destined to fill 

A destiny which ends as it commences — 

To animate the human frame and senses. 

The works of God, so infinitely grand, 
Display omnipotence on every hand; 



Life. 1 1 

The beauteous earth, bedecked with em'rald fields, 
Which, tilled by man, so bountifully yields 
A splendid harvest, food for man and beast, 
And ev'ry fruit, delicious to the taste. 
Where flowers blossom in luxuriant groups — 
A fitting emblem of our fleeting hopes. 
Shedding a fragrance o'er the gentle breeze 
Which rustles sweetly thro' the murm'ring trees, 
Wafting the od'rous incense of the earth 
As sacrifice to Him who gave it birth. 

Where'er the eye may rest some mighty truth 
Is sweet to silvered age or ardent youth : 
The towering mounts, capped with eternal snow. 
Ne'er melting in the sun's meridian glow. 
Whose heights rise upward to the vaulted sky. 
Beyond the reach of keenest mortal eye. 
Whence rushing cataracts, in foaming rage. 
Hoar an mipassioned song from age to age. 
And rivulets and rivers, rippling spread 
A silv'ry mirror o'er their earthly bed. 

The noble forests of a thousand years. 
Which have outlived the human joys and tears 
Of myriads of the mortal lords of earth. 
And live to witness still the coming birth 
Of millions more, ere time shall breed decay 
And all its leafy grandeur fade away, 
Are fitting types of Life. The tender plant. 
Succored by Nature's hand, gains each instant 
Greater growth and more enduring form 
To kiss the sunbeams or withstand the storm. 



1 2 Life. 

Then fruiii the sapling- to the poiid'i'ou?^ stem, 
When spreading branches deck the forest gem, 
The proud monarch's gh)rious charms expand 
'Till it ill full perfection nobly stand, 
And summer's sylvan breezes sweep its boughs 
With mystic chaunts, and stirs its calm repose , 
With tliose sweet, low whispers Poets love 
To deem the spirits' converse from above. 

But years roll on, and e'en this mighty tree 
Must fade, and bow to Nature's stern decree, 
And thus its mission to adorn the earth 
Is ended — while a million more have birth, 
And still will live, thu paradise to grace, 
'Till God's last fiat shall each trace erase. 

These great testimonies of creation 
Should silence doubters' gross confabulation 
On points of theory which tend to stain 
The grandest works divine — but strive in vain. 
Some men are fools and others over wise, 
Some follow truth and others foster lies. 
In some the animal will counteract 
What inteUevt demonstrates as a fact. 
And, as our future state is not reiieaJed, 
Ignore a truth because .the book is sealed; 
When evidence exists on every hand. 
Writ by eternal pen, divinely plann'd. 
That some great agency creiited men, 
That they might read the transci'ipt (/ that pen, 
And thus inscribe u})on the tablets of 
Their hearts the grand solution deemed enough ; 



Life. 1^ 

To tuacli their living souls that after death 
Some other life will give immortal breath. 

Afflictions cloud the day, and poignant sorrow 
Endures to-night, but joy returns to-morrow, 
And when the sun of life may hide its beams 
For days and years, till all existence seems 
A burden, bearing heavily upon 
A life which, maybe, is l)ut just begun; 
'Tis then we learn to long for other joys 
Than those which earthly time so soon destroys, 
And the great bitterness of life-long care 
Leads to a refuge we can not find here — 
Where the tired spirit soars t' immortal heights, 
And revels in the sweets of heaven's delights; 
Where consolation sweetly blends with pain, 
And promises a brighter si)here again. 
But yet some men will eagerly confute 
Tile argument that man v'.s- )iut a brute ; 
That he who governs all created things. 
And bears the sceptre and the crown of kings, 
Kules with a moral power this lower world, 
Shall be in dark oblivion ever hurled 
When death releases his most precious trust 
And all of mortal life returns to dust. 

But is not that a better view of Life 
Which shows the end of all its toil and strife ? 
Why should we live ? Why should we sufier here 
If we no other mission have to bear? 
Why should our minds and intellect aspire, 
When Life's ambition 's gained, to soar the higher, 



14 Life, 

And grand progTessive elementn contend 

How much to earthly greatness each will lend ? 

If all should prove at last an idle vision, 

And God's most mighty works be Death's derision. 

Could all the monuments of skill and art, 
And every labor of the brain and heart, 
Be wrought to grand perfection; were no rules 
Laid down to guide with skill the workman's tools 
By master geniuses; could peace or war 
Imbibe its elements except from power — 
From mighty intellectual supervision, 
From grand conception and as grand decision ? 
No ! Then, if true, these earthly laws must prove 
That some command must lead ere man Avill move; 
So, in the infinite counsels held on high, 
This hemisphere received its destiny, 
And as revolving ages live and die, 
From heaven's mount beams an eternal eye. 
Noting the features in the life of man 
From whence his infant mission first began — 
Controlling and directing all events. 
The changing seasons, all the elements 
Which constitute the sum of life and death. 
Cast from heaven or thrust from hell beneath; 
And when the sands of time, which swiftly pass, 
Shall lay its last deposit in the glass. 
The great awakening of the souls of men 
Shall consummate this Life's tableau, and then 
He who has best fulfilled his mission here 
Shall in the presence of his Judge appear — 



Life. 15 

Receive his just, eternal, great reward, 
For having God's' omnipotence adored, 
While spirits swell in sweet enchanting lays 
The vaults of heaven with songs of joy and praise. 
Then shall the infinite work, which now is veiled 
To every human creature, be revealed. 
And all the doubts of Atheists be hurled, 
With their immortal souls, in that sad world 
Where He has said, in outer darkness dwell 
The torturous spirits of eternal hell ! 



Oh, man ! While yet thy life has one day left, 
Before that fleeting shadow be bereft, 
Ponder its truths, and may a power divine 
With holy revelation in thee shine — 
Ransom thy soul from bonds of reasoning clay, 
That it may soar to realms of endless day 
In wonder, adoration, love and awe 
For Him who made thee, and wiio made the law 
Which guides th}^ reason, and sustains thy soul, 
That thou may rehearse and act the role 
Of Life's vast tragedy, and comprehend 
The glory thou shalt gain when all shall end 
Then, as the curtain falls, thy gasping breath 
Shall witness to the myst'ries after death. 
And as the thread of Life be breaking fast 
Midway between the future and the past, 
As dawning joys of heaven shall greet thine eye 
Thy faltering voice its truths shall testify, 



i6 



Life. 



And men wlio witness how a Christian dies 
May then renounce ail Reason's treacli'rous lies. 
And ere their bodies lie beneath the sod 
They yet may learn to live to Honor God. 




arrianc. 



TO E. S. F. 




HEN God reviewed from his eternal throne 

The gracious work His mig-hty hands liad done, 
cT^^ The grand conception of omnipotent power 

^ d)'"" Wro't to perfection in an unborn hour, 
The whole expanse of earth, of sea and land 
Created, model'd by His master hand, 
Each living thing, each unit of creation 
Received its mission, with His approbation:. 
The everlasting hills, whose mighty span 
Embraces space no human eye can scan; 
The snow-capped mounts, o'erhanging precipice. 
The belted rocks and foaming deep abyss, 
The running rivers and the murm'ring streams, 
Dancing- and sparkling in the bright sunbeams ; 
The em'rald fields, the desert^s sandy plain, 
Where thousands tread to ne'er return again ; 
The mighty ocean's vast expansive sweep, 
And wondrous myst'ries of an unknown deep ; 
Each animal and vegetable life. 
Its vital element, however brief, 



i8 Marriage. 

Imbibed existence some wise end to fill, 
In conformation with its Maker's will. 

Then man was formed, and walked and talked with God 
Where holy feet alone had ever trod — 
Conversed with infinite eternal might, 
Communed with holy spirits day and night 
Till his Creator formed the great design 
Of woman's mission and of man's decline, 
Moulded her beauteous form, then gave her breath, 
And made the twain one flesh in sin and death ! 
The serpent's power prevailed — the deed was done. 
And thus the scheme of Mortal Life begun. 

Humanity increased and nations spread. 
And destiny its children blindly led 
Thro' all the myst'ries of this transient life, 
Its sensual passions and remorseless strife, 
The one great moving element of which 
Sprung from the deed of earth's first born, to reach 
A fruit that God forbid their lips should touch. 
Borne by the tree of sin, and plucked as such. 
Transformed their transient span of holy life 
And wro't the destiny of Man and Wife ; 
Revealing God's premeditated will 
To raise a mighty good from deepest ill. 
In blessing that which earned His direst wrath 
To fructify the purest joys of earth. 
That every moral good should concentrate 
In married life, and from it emanate 



Marriage, 19 

Each element which sways the universe, 
Its highest blessing and its deepest curse. 

Thus man and wife fulfil the will of God 
And represent the purest type of good, 
While men who seek their mission to reject 
Their Creator's holiest laws neglect. 
And sacrifice the noblest joys of life — 
The second paradise of man and wife — 
For that which immolates their dearest gift, 
And will embitter what few joys are left, 
'Till with the keenest pain they'll mourn, too late. 
Their self-imposed, unreal, unmarried state. 

The obligations may appear immense 
When gauged, defined, and rated by expense 
But worldly wealth, when deemed a just excuse 
For waiving moral right, is rank abuse 
Of that which constitutes the greatest treasure. 
And is itself the true impartial measure 
Of earthly good, the only real foundation 
Which rears the grandest work of life's creation ; 
Where every moral law must gravitate. 
And in its mysteries novitiate, 
Ere man can realize the true extent 
Of life's real purpose and its vast intent; 
Its concentrated source of solid fact. 
Where he alone receives its worth intact. 
x\nd that which young men fear would confiscate 
Their cherished liberty, preponderate 



20 Marriage. 



v^ 



In evil influence and in distress, 

Would rather tend to foster and caress 

The projects they conceive and strive to attain, 

But fail because they wrongly seek to gain 

An after portion ^rs^, and fear to test 

Joys of connubial bliss at present, lest 

Their worldly wealth might prove inadequate 

To meet the Imrdens of the married state. 

And, though its tribulations may be great, 

Its varied joys will amply compensate, 

And new born sorrow gender sweeter joy, 

Which nought will badly tarnish, ne'er destroy; 

Thus in affliction, wrought from righteous ends, 

A more equivalent bliss most sweetly blends, 

For 'tis by suffering we truly live, 

Know what to take, and have one whit to give. 

Which purifies the soul, and will renew 

And build the smould'ring fires of life ancAV. 

The exquisite delight which love imparts, 
From grandest attributes to minor parts. 
The mighty power with which it elevates. 
The least conception which it generates. 
Should surely claim a trifle more regard 
Than as a stumbling block, which may retard 
Our efforts to secure what might be found 
With greater ease upon united ground. 
And of the ills which emanate from love 
The vast majority, statistics prove, 
Arise from ignorance, or a sad abuse 
Of that which constitutes its truest use. 



Marriao'c. 2i 

Love unrestricted by tlie power of reason 
A[aj please the senses for a passing season, 
But as it germinates its rich beauty 
Destroys strongest claims on moral duty, 
Enchains the true conviction of the mind 
In coils which kindred evils closer bind, 
'Till love becomes a curse, and wrecks at last 
All faith and hope on quicksands of the past. 
And n^hoi a wreck ; what blight, what desolation 
Follows that tinted dream of love's creation. 

'Tis strange that men, and stranger still, that women 
Should trifle with the only earthly heaven 
In which life's purest joys are typified 
And noblest attributes intensified — 
Where sorrow finds its dearest, tend'rest friend, 
And richest gifts of human nature blend, 
'Till life assumes a garb of glorious hue. 
Enhanced and freshened by the sparkling dew 
Of early morn, and rendered lovlier still 
When even's sunset tints the mantling hill 
Of golden clouds which wait its royal descent 
And sheds its parting rays on life veil imperil. 

Oh! ye who tamper with the power of love, 
Pause ere ye seek its potency to 2)rove, 
Lest it return upon your guilty head 
The coals of living fire your breath has fed. 
The heart you once instilled with hope and joy 
Then cast aside, a l)roken, worthless toy. 



22 Marriage. 

Whose life you decked with pleasing gilded lies, 
Shining as burnished gold before his eyes, 
Who claimed the holiest gift from noblest man 
But to despoil it, and return again 
The power you hold to gender good or ill, 
Will claim its vengeance here^ or worse in hell ! 

Coquet ! thou poor deluded trivial thing, 
Thy senseless trifling might excuse its sting 
Did you not transform men to weakest fools, 
And use them as the powerless, soulless tools 
Of your own pleasure, while you sacrifice 
The purest trust of youth to abject vice, 
Without an object but to captivate 
And gain devotion ; tho' it turn to hate 
You heed not its attendant gravities, 
Nor that you gender worse depravities. 
But soon or late the fate you please to mete 
To others will recoil to your own feet. 

The power some women wield is absolute; 
Her character may be but dissolute, 
And virtue be a by-word in her mouth, 
And crush the choicest flower of beauteous youth; 
Yet, with a lovely, sweet, enchanting face, 
And form bedecked with every natural grace, 
A silvery voice, a rich mellifluous tongue. 
Belying even simplest traits of wrong; 
Indeed, a devil in an angel's dress. 
Doomed to destroy e'en while she may caress. 
She spreads the snare, and few withstand her arts, 
But yield the deepest passions of their hearts, 



Marriage. 23 

And falling willing dupes to broad design,. 
Each future pledge of joy and hope resign, 
Casting their destiny in callous hands, 
Wielding the magic, swift transforming wands 
Which changes misjudged bliss to grim despair 
Without a passing qualm or single care. 

I have no faith in gen'ral "broken hearts," 
Because the salve of time soon heals the parts, 
And none but maudlin creatures long retain 
A morbid liking for a lingering pain. 
When their own folly and infatuation 
Wro't all their ruin, loss and desolation. 
But happiness will lose its varied charms 
When wrecked in tickle woman's twining arms, 
And taint the noblest, purest atmosphere 
Which otherwise man holds so richly dear; 
Will chasten all his life with stern tuition, 
Blast his highest aim and best ambition, 
And tho' the hand of time may heal the wound, 
'Twill ne'er again in life be wholly sound, 
For thro' this sad and oft occurring stain 
The dream of man and wife is rent in twain. 
But now we pass from falsity to prove 
The glorious influence of genuine love, 
And that which constitutes without exception 
The truest life, in all its rich perfection. 

Dreams of wealth, of fame and noble station. 
Glowing pictures, wro't by youth's ambition, 
Absorb the mind with pleasant occupation, 
But need one impulse to true inculcation 



24 Marriage. 

Of happiness. 'Tis love and union, 

Holy and faithful in reciprocation, 

Which lend a gilded charm to ev'ry function, 

And blends with hardest toil the richest unction. 

When once the beams of love illuminate 

The heart of man, the hardest blows of fate . 

Fall with a softened touch upon a life 

Absorbed in one great joy — a future wife; 

Then the roughest corners of his nature 

And each unprepossessing feature 

Are softened, moulded, cleansed and beautified. 

To match the perfect model by his side. 

The man or woman who has never loved — 
And such there are — have never really lived. 
By love I mean that fierce resistless fire 
Which ever opposition fans the higher — 
A firm, enduring, soul inspiring power, 
A¥hich gathers nobler laurels every hour, 
Braves the storms of life, of sin, rejection. 
Loves when robbed of all its best perfection; 
Still loves when weary years have long since cast 
A former substance in a baseless past — 
Which wanders back in misty, painful dreams. 
Yet as an earnest, mournful present seems, 
Still loves when love has lost its c-}iarm\\\ death, 
Or worse, destroyed by sin's corrupting breath. 
This is the love which gilds our dreary life 
And brightens all our cares, our trials and strife, 
Replenishes the exhausted powers of mind 
'Till in existence new born joys we find — 
Sways us with influences sweetly tending 
To noble issues, gently, purely blending 



Marriage. 25 

The attributes of good with powerful ill, 

'Till all that holy stands grows holier still, 

And shadows which might shroud our lives in gloom 

Are scattered where 'tis fitter they should loom. 

But still the joys of lovers end not here, 

However all-sufficient they appear; 

The bless'd communication of their love 

Has yet its choicest excellence to prove. 

Parental love ! that deep unfathomed love 
Which the recesses of our nature move; 
An uncontrollable, ecstatic force, 
What mind can fully comprehend its source. 
Or tongue describe its great unfailing strength. 
Its wond'rous might, its depth, its breadth, its length ? 
No human eloquence ; aye, richest lore 
Of intellect and passion could no more 
Than stand amazed, in steadfast, silent awe — 
And viewing, fail to picture what it saw — 
For grandest language fails to do its duty 
In terms which near express its wond'rous beauty. 

A mother'' 8 love ! oh, ye who have it pi'ize it, 
For those who judge it lightly or despise it 
Will suffer yet the deepest, fell remorse 
Which ever typified an actual curse. 
The time must come when those soft loving arms 
Which reared thy infancy to manhood's charms. 
That melting voice, which soothed thy childish fears, 
And gaily chased away thy gath'ring tears, 

2 



26 Marriage, 

Those sparkling eyes, which watched thee as thou slept, 

Or overflowed because her treasure wept, 

Who nursed thee in thy sickness, and in health 

Rejoiced at each return of Nature's wealth, 

Who taught thy prattling tongue to lisp her name, 

And joined thy frolics, revelled in each game 

Which pleased thy infant mind, and loved each toy 

Because it gave her Uttle offspring joy; 

Who watched thy budding charms of lovely youth, 

And fed its soil with germs of holy truth. 

Moulded thy beauteous manhood's opening leaf 

With tend'rest care, lest it should gender grief 

By turning into channels spread with snares. 

Which might bear evil fruit in future years; 

And whom, when indiscretion earned thee shame, 

Sheltered thy deepest faults and hore their blame — 

Suffered, wept, rejoiced, and all for thee, 

As my lost angel mother did for me — 

Shall pass away, and '' immortality 

Be swallowed up of life." Oh! dire fatality, 

What sacrifices now thou'd fondly make 

Could they that lifeless form again awake; 

What wealth would give for one sweet chiding word, 

Which yet in former years you coldly heard. 

And maybe stung her kind solicitude 

With cruel anger and with bearing- rude. 

But nol the time is past, her body's dead. 

And all but memory now from earth has fled. 

Mother! the last sad glimpse I had of thee 
Thy form was bowed with anguished grief for me, 



Marriage. 27 

For /was leaving home and friends, to dwell 

In other lands — and there the curtain fell — 

For ne'er again my weeping eyes will fall 

On her who was my joy — almost my all — 

For death has claimed her precious, treasured love, 

And nought will e'er again its equal prove. 

May God permit, dear reader, you may never 
Know what it is to part like this, for eve7% 
From her who still remains, I trust, to prove 
Her sons and daughters' fondest, tend'rest love. 

Afather\s love! what words can tell the joy 
Which centres in his dearest girl or boy ? 
Gauge the strong, deep, stirring, pure affection — 
Heaven's attribute in earth's perfection. 

'Tis his great duty to correct and guide, 
And make his present joy his future pride; 
To chasten with a wise, impartial force. 
And purge from evil weeds life's future course — 
To watch each yielding gift of budding years, 
And nourish wor suppress, as best appears. 

The man who loves his wife must love his child 
And foster love in it ; destroy or build 
The future happiness of all their lives 
According as his love withholds or gives; 
That moral truth maintains its proper sphere 
Wherever sentiment might interfere. 
The father — loved in youth, when manhood graces 
His offspring's life, and gath'ring age replaces 
His ra^en head with locks of silvery white. 
And closing day foreshadows coming night™ 



28 Marriage. 

Gains holier love in venerable years, 
Finds a sweet refuge from his former cares, 
And in his children's children reaps great joy 
For all the love he lavished on his boy. 

Thus parents sip the sweetest draught from joy, 
And test the truth of life without alloy, 
Which binds the human race in bonds of bliss 
And soothes the fiercest passion with a kiss. 

May He who wro't this holy institution 
Bless its vot'ries with a kind fruition 
Of every hope, expressed in humble prayer 
To Him who formed the words, so loves to hear. 
Then skeptics shall restrain their foolish jeers 
At married joys, because its life appears 
The noblest lot on earth, and nearest heaven. 
With its choicest blessings freely given 
To gild our mortal life with purest gold, 
And such as ne'er is bartered, bought or sold. 



:j0tin*ig. • 




c\1 



D 

o.ME men are prone to envy others' wealth; 

Some envy men's success, some envy health; 

Some envy intellect, some envy power; 

Some envy passing pleasures of an hour. 
There's little good or bad on this poor earth 
But some seemed doomed to envy from their birth — 
Who never seem so pleased as when intent 
In plaguing others with their discontent. 
Nature has ordained that men must differ, 
And some be quite exempt while others suffer; 
And if we take our portion with a curse 
It only makes the matter ten times worse. 

Folks may growl, complain, and waste their tears, 
'Twill brigliten not a day in fifty years; 
The only antidote the gods have sent 
Is to push along and be content. 
What if one be rich, another poor; 
They each have some afflictions to endure 
Peculiar to their case, and fain would share 
A portion of the ills they each must bear. 



30 Poverty,, 

Stern poverty is Nature's noblest school, 
And educates whom wealth might leave a fool; 
Where all refractory youths are forced to pen 
The lessons which will make them useful men; 
Give power to act and think, to work and make — 
A fortune, most, no doubt, .would rather take. 

Here genius weaves the fabric of a work 
In which ten thousand hands may yet embark, 
And builds a glorious future in a present 
Which to a needy purse may be unpleasant. 

Should destitution strive, with threatening frown, 
To stint the gift e'en poverty has thrown, 
Firm manhood rouses all his latent power 
And saves his gutted ship from sinking lower; 
And, like a vet'ran mariner ai the helm, 
Altho' before his eyes the gathering film 
Of death may oft obscure his forlorn hope, 
With raging elements he'll bravely cope. 
And guide his storm-tossed bark thro' treach'rous shoals 
And thereb}^ save his own and many souls. 

We all must serve apprenticeship to life, 
Nor sip its sweets, but we resist its strife; 
The test is grand, the effort grander still 
Which wins a precious prize by hard bought skill. 

But ye who shrink from poverty as crime. 
Because no need its rugged cliffs to climb, 
Who gauge its victims by a pampered rule. 
Unfit to test the substance of a fool — 
Who pride your manliness upon your wealth. 
Whether inheritance or gained by stealth— 



Poverty. 31 

Recline on velvet, drink from golden ware, 
And eat the dainties epicures prepare. 
Yet fear contamination in the touch 
Of empty hands, but hands which labor much 
To make your glitt'ring hordes — time may reverse. 
And in those honest hands may place your purse, 
And then you'll learn — it may be learn too late — 
To render poverty a kinder fate. 

With riches man can frame a curse, or bless 
The store of him who needs his kind caress. 
Gain glory, education, highest fame. 
And best of all, may earn an honored name ; 
May feed the hungry, clothe the shiv'ring form, 
Shelter the homeless from the withering storm, 
And gild the earth with radiant tints of joy — 
All burnished gold, and not a grain alloy — 
As oft he nobly does; and thus, poor man. 
Be generous in your veto if you can. 
For know that were it not that some were rich 
The bed of many poor might be a ditch. 
The wealth you envy, and would idly share, 
Yourself can make it if you do and dare; 
And tho' an " Aristocrat" you roundly blame. 
Would you object, just now, to be the same ? 
If others have the gift of wealth and station 
Let it excite your laudable ambition. 
To gain yourself what now you may denounce. 
Because its owners care not to renounce 
Their title to it ; what you would humbly take 
By honest labor you may trebly make. 



32 Poverty, 

Some men, when only poor, assume they've cast 
A hopeful future in a baneful past, 
And as the spectre may be grim and gaunt, 
Will read its mission and its name as ''TFan^;" 
And tho' the two are cold and hard of heart 
Their special destiny must lie apart. 
But will assimilate if men permit 
Their energies to flag, and bodies sit 
In weak inaction, and in sorrow mope 
Over the remnants of one blasted hope. 

Want can be resisted by the poor 
In many instances, if they endure 
The prospect of its terrors without fear, 
And force a smile instead of shed a tear. 
But these conditions are most often blended, 
And will increase a rent that might be mended 
If sound material were rightly used 
And older rags with dignity refused. 
While health and strength are ours what need we more ? 
Why demoralize because we're poor ? 
While life retains a spark hope has not fled. 
But we must lie as we may make our bed. 
The hardest lot may still be softened much 
By many a genial if not generous touch, 
And sympathy exert a potent power 
In the most weary, hopeless, bankrupt hour. 
While friendship proves the choicest of its worth 
And fructifies a lately barren earth. 

The sorrows of the poor indeed are great, 
But poverty is not so hard a fate 



Poverty. 33 

As those who never felt it may conceive, 
And still, perhaps, its evils ne'er relieve; 
There's joy in sorrow as there's joy in love, 
And joy in taking what 'tis joy to give; 
There's joy in hardest toil, in poorest fare; 
There's joy in every trouble man jnay bear; 
No suffering, no affliction, loss or pain. 
But some sweet gift will fill its place again. 
Tho' wrested from the last of all our gold 
Is life less sweet because the tale is told ? 
The sunbeams still play o'er the glistening dew 
Of early morn, which dawns as much for you 
As other men ; then gird your loins for xmrk, 
And the' the atmosphere be damp and dark 
That bright sun's rays will penetrate at last 
And all your gloomy visions shall be past. 
And God may bless the means you once forsook 
And give a hundred fold for what He took. 

I know the sweets of great prosperity, 
Have felt the weight of deep adversity, 
And in them each have learned, tho' may be loth, 
Life's grandest work is centered in them both. 

Life has many shades, and each complexion 
Is food for sober thought and deep reflection. 
And every phase has something worth to teach 
Which only can be learned by testing each, 
And tho' we shrink from Avhat the task reveal, 
In after life we may be brought to feel 
Its pungent truths, and gain a rich reward 
In having that once lost again restored, 

2* 



34 Poverty, 

Refined and purged from all impurity, 
Which counteracts the soul's maturit3^ 

We, as i'mmortal, therefore must prepare 

To learn to die, by braving what we fear 

In case the casket may be bruised and torn 

In polishing the gem which is t' adorn 

A better life, q, holier, happier sphere. 

To enter which we needs must suffer here, 

And gaining this, what greater, nobler gift 

Could be desired, when nought on earth is left — 

Our race is run ; our destiny is done ; 

Our haven gained ? — a bright immortal sun 

Shall dry the rivers of our mortal strife 

And shine forever o'er a peaceful life. 

But liere no sorrow floods the sufferer's eye, 

No blasted hopes in shattered fragments lie, 

No deprivations steal the joys of life 

And strew our path with thorns of pain and strife ; 

But in the hand which deals its bitterness 

There nestles some sweet antidote, to bless 

And fill the gaps of misery's creation 

Thro' which the chill winds of destitution 

May rush in woful blasts — so cold, so bleak. 

That shelter seems a mockery vain to seek. 

By suffering loss ourselves we learn to know 
The keenness of a fellow creature's woe. 
And thus can heal a wound with tender skill 
When otherwise we'd barely have the will. 

However we may feel our life a curse 
There's many a kindred soul which suffers worse, 



Poverty, 35 

And while we have a t^hare, liowever poor, 
Is there no starving brother needs it more ? 
Then ye who have a erust, tho' poor a fare, 
Accept it humbly, accept it with a prayer 
That having this a chastening God will bless 
Your cruet, that its oil may ne'er be less. 

That some have little, some e'en overmuch, 
Has ever been, and must remain as such, 
For were all mortals rich life's war would end. 
For none would lead the attack and none defend. 
To earn their bread it follows men must work; 
But who amongst us would not gladly shirk 
So stern a duty and laborious task ? 
We need not answer, much less need we ask. 

Our mighty commerce ne'er had spread the seas 
Had not a laboring hand first felled the trees 
Wherewith to build the ships, and others still 
Had planned and fashioned all with craft and skill. 
Our stately structures, noble works of art, 
Had never pleased the eye or cheered the heart 
Had not necessit}^ inspired the soul, 
And fabricated when it left a whole. 
Were we ne'er sick we should not value health, 
Were we not poor, should not aspire to wealth ; 
And lacking thus an earnest aspiration, 
Would never feel that glorious inspiration 
Which keeps the soul, the body and tlie mind, 
In one intense, unswerving work combined, 
Gaining the road to wealth by earning fame, 
Which good work most justly will reclaim 



36 Poverty. 

The poor man's portion from a stain so foul 
That what he lacks in wealth he lacks in 80uL 

Poverty is noble, grand, sublime ! 
Tho' by misuse it often genders crime. 
Some fear its touch and dare not with it cope, 
But in its first appearance lose their hope, 
And fall a prey to What would be a friend 
Did they its mission fully comprehend. 
While some are wealthy others must be poor, 
But self-respect can close privation's door 
And keep it shut; Avhile fortune, slow but sure, 
Rewards the strength of him who can endure ; 
And e'en the poorest may in time be rich 
If they but weave the fabric stitch by stitch. 

When youth attains to manhood's golden prime 
Others must then commence their race with time. 
Maturity has won its well earned wealth. 
Then let the youth refuse its gain by stealth, 
Nor envy him who, once as poor, has fought 
And onward marched, as all true soldiers ought, 
'Till Fortune's smile replaced her with'ring frown 
And showered the gifts with which his path is strewn. 
Look upward ! Onward ! Flag not for an hour. 
And as you strive forget that you are poor. 

The noblest, grandest, stateliest pride of man 
Is having nothing when he first began 
His contest with the world, and sought the field 
With firm determination for his shield, 
Resistance for his sword, and trust in God, 
That he might find the path where fortune trod. 



Poverty. 37 

And tho' we fail, and lose the all we make, 
It matters not, there's plenty more to take; 
And tho' the sacrifice may rankle sore. 
We but resume the place we held before. 
Defeat should not discourage — try again ; 
We shall not find our energy in vain. 
Our path may be obscure, our mission humble, 
But we may higher rise howe'er we stumble, 
And losing much, retaining self-reliance, 
Can bid the hard cold world a l)rave defiance; 
For Fortune favors those who boldly seek, 
And loves her votaries, however meek. 
Howe'er swift she run we may o'ertake her, 
And shout triumphantly at last, ^' Eureka T^ 
And if the hand of fate should interpose 
And check the race, 'tis better to oppose 
Than weakly grumble at the erratic course, 
AVhen forced to travel with an empt}^ purse. 

The truest pleasure represents the pace 
At which we run, and tho' we lose the race 
Our happiness will never be the less 
'Till we receive the blow or kind caress, 
For even if we win the sequel shows 
That many a keen, sharp thorn may stud a rose; 
And, tho' we wear the laurels on our breast, 
We lose the unction when we stay requed ; 
What we receive in cool reality 
Is little when compared to ideality; 
Then if we rise or fall, no luatter which, 
The true delight consists in getting rich. 



IJ^cmpLM^aitCG vs. 





Q/§y 

OME men, born in chronic fomentation, 
Effervesce witli much determination, 
A.s if their bubbling and excited state 
Evidenced a wise and well stocked pate; 
Lecture and impart without permission. 
Because tliey please to adorn a mission, 
And minister to men their ultra notions 
In vapid, crude, and nauseating potions; 
Earning more disgust for drug and doctor 
Than estimation as a benefactor. 

Fanaticism's soil is most prolific, 
Generating a divine specific 
For the ills, corruptions and excesses 
Which its " advocate" the most distresses, 
And 'mid the varied faults at which they rave 
There's naught so potent as a '' drunkard's grave." 
While all true principles of temperance 
Are injured by their lack of jcommon sense, 
Fevered imagination and weak brain, 
Which, as an overloaded water main, 



Temperance. 39 

Prematurely cracked, explodes in haste, 
And all its liquid treasure runs to waste. 

Plumed with the notion that they are inspired 
Their wat'ry zeal is indiscreetly tired, 
And, once baptized in confraternity. 
They plug the outlet to eternity 
With condemnations of the wilful soul 
Who dares to patronize the '* flowing bowl," 
And would have the world make restitution 
For fools' crimes and self-caused destitution; 
Condemn indulgence, tho' in mod'rate use, 
Because its principles some men abuse; 
Have Legislative power assist their cause 
By framing unjust, arbitrary laws, 
Storming freemens' rights, and inclinations. 
And sound principles, with wat'ry rations. 

But evil lurks in every form and guise 
Which sinful nature's cunning can devise; 
With every pleasure and each passing joy 
Some element of ill will mostly cloy, 
And by insatiate lust and fierce desire 
Transform a latent spark to raging fire, 
Which, unchecked by reason, soon destroys 
Life's truest blessing and most equal poise. 

And tempey^ance is that which can resist 
An evil, while temptation may persist 
In making proselytes of knaves and fools, 
Who for a drunken revel stake their souls; 
Which reason dictates to discriminate 
'Twixt good and ill, nor to appropriate 



40 Temperance, 

The gift of Nature with a sottish greed, 
Or seek indulgence in a simple need. 
And, tho' the crime of drunkenness be great, 
All sober men decline to advocate 
The doctrine of an abstinence fanatic, 
That sinners to be saints must be aquatic. 

But. some stanch brothers of a gushing " League" 
Will S2^out for many hours with small fatigue, 
And argue, with a glowing eloquence, 
That water is of vital consequence 
In cleansing morals from an inward rust 
And washing spirits from their mortal crust, 

"Beware!" cries brother Aqua, ''Friends, beware 
'' Of drunkenness, the moderate drinker's snare. 
*' Wine is a mocker, and strong drink a raging 
" Which grows the fiercer wliile the thirst assuaging ; 
'' The more men drink the more they will desire, 
"'Till soul and body burn in liquid fire. 
" You cannot sip nor touch a sparkling wine, 
" Altho' the purest produce of the vine, 
" But it will taint your nature, and will doom 
" A short existence to a living tomb. 
" A drunkard's portion fills that glitt'ring cup, 
" Whether you merely taste or drink it up. 

"When once you take this step all hope is lost, 
" And as the purchase so must be the cost; 
" I draw no difference nor demarcation 
"Between a luxury or simple ration — 
" Between indulgence or a temperate use, 
" A mod'rate custom or a rank abuse — ■ 



Temperance. 41 

*' The man who drinhs must bear a drunkard's name, 
'^ And in a sot's carousal share the shame." 

Thus have I heard these gentlemen denounce 
The Clime of men who care not to renounce 
Then- right to please a lawful inclination, 
Enjoy their wine, and risk denunciation 
From lips which frame, from mental indigestign, 
A damning answer ere one asks a question. 

Such words were cast, with most impressive force, 
At my devoted head; nay, even worse, 
By one who bathed his principles in water 
And styled himself a '' temperance supporter;" 
Professed that all perfections must adhere 
To mortals Avho condemn a glass of beer. 
And that the doctrine first and last imputed 
Is that the soul is lost unless diluted. 
And yet that man is now committing treason 
'Gainst each dictate of the merest reason 
By advocating anti-temp'rance notions 
In unrestrained debauch and deepest potions. 
From early youth his principles were trained 
To abstinence — and these were well retained, 
With credit to himself and to the cause 
He weakly deemed the best of moral laws, 
Until the influence of actual life 
Conquered his prejudices, once so rife, 
Subdued his reason by a fierce desire. 
Which shattered conscience only fanned the higher. 



42 Temperance. 

From which we can deduce that Nature asks 

No forced restrictions or unusual tasks, 

Offers her richest gifts with lavish hand, 

But scorns the fool whose mind cannot withstand 

Seductions of excess, and falls a snare 

To depths of weakness idiots cannot share. 

And should moral strength resign the palm 

Which only saves a blinded youth from harm, 

Desire and passion, once as strongly caged, 

When by temptation's influence enraged. 

Will burst their life-bound bonds with reckless haste. 

Anew intoxicating joy to taste; 

And thus his principles will fast decay, 

And once invulnerable precepts lay 

Broken, blasted, crushed and wrecked, alas! 

In what he once denounced, a tippler's glass; 

For Nature, robbed for years of simple right, 
When Indiscretion seeks to test her might, 
Retaliates with cold, relentless power. 
And fetters youth in vice within an hour. 
But he who has been taught to moderate 
His inclinations, and discriminate 
'Twixt legitimate pleasures and the vices 
Which throng in paths of life in strange devices. 
Knows by tuition and experience 
That true knowledge and most strong adherence 
To life's best portion is to test the whole, 
Nor shun to blend his nature with his soul. 
Will not reject a favor and a friend 
Because some vicious attributes may blend 



Temper a7ice, 43 

To })uiiisli those who madly satiate 
The wants of Nature at a sottish rate. 

True .temp'rance I admire; but that the " pledge," 

As enthusiasts glowingly allege, 

Is Nature's noblest way to be divine, 

And he who dare^ to drink a glass of wine, 

Tho' strictly temperate, is ten times worse 

Than he who forms and then rejects a cur^e, 

I must submit evinces inconsistence 

In gauging principles of true resistance, 

For he who can withstand a great temptation, 

By traversing a line of demarkation 

Which assigns the paths of right from wrong, 

Proves to possess an intellect more strong, 

A sterner reason, nobler moral caste, 

Than he who's forced to adopt the course at last. 

When good example shows the enormity 

Of what is self-imposed infirmity. 

But daring not to trust true temperance 

Shelters and saves his life in ahsiinence. 

A temperate life, in abstinence or slight 
Indulgence, is and ever must be right; 
But he who dares assert, as many do, 
A theory so thoroughly untrue, 
That men who love the produce of the vine, 
Nay, may at times to jovialty incline. 
Pander to evil and support a crime 
Too base to picture in this huml)le rhyme, 



44 Tempera7ice. 

Must either lack experience or the strength 
Of mind to clip desire to sober length. 

As prejudice must surely clog the mind, 
And hardly judge of liberal mankind, 
An analysis is worthy small respect 
By men who never te^i what they dissect. 

Real temperance men, of principle and sense, 
Will shun to annoy and offer deep offence, 
By bigoted disgust and reprehension 
Of that which meets their lawful condemnation 
When made the slaves of lu^^t and sinful passion. 
Blasting immortal life without compassion. 
But mme who adapt their principles to goin, 
Inflamed by prejudice, would please arraign 
Their brethren who may differ at the bar 
Of outraged Nature, and indeed debar 
Their precious souls from heavenly fruition 
Because they may resent their crude tuition. 
'Tis such at whom I take my truest aim; 
Wlio, if they care, may render me the same. 

Noble temperance men! I gladly hail 
Your great determination to assail 
An evil which pollutes the atmosphere, 
And fills each crevice in this lower spere; 
Ne'er cease to raise in eloquence 3^our voice 
'Gainst drunkenness, and may your hearts rejoice 
In reclamation of a mortal's name 
From all the horrors of a drunkard's shame. 



Temper afice. 45 

Raise high the banner of your righteous cause, 
And may each tempted soul obey its laws; 
May God support and bless an earnest aim 
To save an erring man from even blame; 
Then shall the curse of wine resign its breath 
And fill the grave it dug for moral death. 

But they who haunt the cause with spectral dreams, 
And bigoted and most obnoxious themes, 
Disport their sentiments in Godly guise 
When all is prejudice and blinded lies; 
Who curse the matter, and would save a sin 
By emptying wine and pouring water in, 
Whose narrow minds, of gross and meanest span, 
See evil in the drink but none in man, 
Thus classify the whole as embryo sots. 
And helpless slaves to pints, from thence to pots, 
And teach that strongest nature can't restrain 
A soul from hell until it shall al>8tain, 
Are bigoted fanatics, dupes and fools, 
And need be soused until their ardor cools. 

Nature is bountiful; then use her well. 
And pledge her in a glass, but simply full; 
Enjoy the blessing our Creator gave 
In moderation, and a balance save 
For those whom poverty denies a share 
Of that which many might a portion spare: 
Then shall the wine our Saviour drank and blest, 
As of natural bev'rage purely best. 
Ere He resigned His glorious mission here 
And bought immortal joys so richly dear, 



^6 Temperance* 

Be rescued from its direful imputation 
Of luring souls to death and to damnation. 

But ye who retail liquors — poisonous drugs — 
In shape of bev'rages, shall drink the dregs 
Of that with which you succor every crime, 
And guileless natures with a demon prime. . 

Let temperance advocates rehearse their parts, 
'Till tempered to assail the hardest hearts. 
While Legislative power provides no law 
For drunkard makers drunkards still will fall 
Deeper, yet deeper, in the pits of vice 
Which these infernal human fiends devise. 



See yonder youth, about to "take a drink;" 
He makes it two, and totters on the brink 
Of that abyss in which he might not sink, 
Did he who fed the spark but check the flame. 
Instead of quickening the light of shame. 
But no ! His cash alone these vampires seek, 
Who reckon drunkenness a happy freak 
To fill their coffers; and, if e'er his purse 
Should fail in that, a thrust and callous curse 
Stretches his senseless form upon the stones. 
Whereon he ends his life or breaks his bones; 
No matter which, no matter how he fell, 
A drunkard's shame is all the tale to tell. 

While this exists let temp'rance lecturers teach- 
They'll gender little good by all they preach — 



Tevipcra7ice. 



47 



And tlio' their mission may be quite sincere, 
How loud they speak-'twill faintly reach the ear 
Of those wliom Satan finds an easy prey, 
Because our Legislature paves the way. 




j j^^l 



]t 




^ ow strange it seems that mortals, blest with brains, 
Should seek to bind their intellect in chains 
-.y Moulded by Satan's hands, and linked with lies, 
"^ And coated with a counterfeit disguise 
Of ninety-nine per cent, of base alloy 
Mixed with a grain of fact, and that a toy, 
Pleasing little by its introduction 
But rather more by its entire destruction. 



To define the wojih and curse of " Fiction " 
Test its principles with cogent diction, 
Laud its merits, and explain its uses, 
Virtues, beauties, and its rank abuses ; 
To separate the precious from the vile, 
And classify the whole in graphic style. 
Which might convince a poor deluded slave 
That he abetted in a crime so grave 
As robbing nature of its holiest truth, 
Despoiling age, denuding early youth 



Sensaiion Liierahcre. 49 

Of all the attributes which constitute 
The actual facts of life; and substitute 
A false, insidious, visionary cheat, 
Beguiling reason to its treacherous feet, 
And stamping out what little share of brains 
In a poor addled cranium remains; 
Wrecking God's best vessel on the strands 
Of moral death — must rest in stronger hands 
And comprehensive intellects than mine. 
Unless the arduous task they should decline. 

The " literature " of this progressive age 
Keeps pace with people's overwhelming rage 
For something more than natural life can give, 
To taint the atmosphere in which they live. 
Thus, vilest sins, and hideousness of crime 
Must be redeemed by traits of the sublime. 
And causes and effects reverse their place 
To admit of being decked with charming grace: 
And shrouding fact beneath a false ideal, 
That minds may fashion to a type of real, 
And devilish natures, worse than Nero-ic, 
Be rendered pretty, if not heroic. 

But, virtues heightened by an ideal leap 
To altitudes which make believers weep, 
Descended from their bright, exuberant flight, 
Present at best a very sorry plight 
In human dressing, and in sober truth, 
Undecked with glittering lies; and 'venturous youth 



50 Sensation Literature. 

Grows morbid in his rash attempts to reach, 
In actual life, the dreams that theorists teach, 
And in his baseless efforts to aspire. 
Sinks yet deeper while he soars the higher. 

Fiction which keeps within the bounds of reason, 
And counts truth not wholly out of season, 
Which neither soars to realms ethereal 
Nor tampers with the attributes of hell, 
Which dallies with the tender sentiments 
Without depositing rank sediments. 
Or trifles with affairs of trivial caste. 
To be forgotten when the scene is past, 
May help to while an idle hour away 
And brighten up a gloomy wintry day, 
And does no harm, at least, altho' the mind 
Might often better occupation find. 

Still, as a genuine source of relaxation. 
When life's dull cares engender hard taxation, 
' Twill prove a good specific, and its use, - 
While mainly sought to leisurely amuse. 
Recuperates the exhausted powers of mind, 
And physical and mental evils find 
An exquisite relief — refreshing ease — 
From that which otherwise might barely please; 
And, that truths are well displayed in fiction 
I offer no pretence at contradiction. 

'Tis sweet, when tired, and weary of the world. 
To have the leaves of fancy's dreams unfurled — 



Sensation Literature. 51 

To wander 'midst elysian scenes of bliss, 
Where flowers bend with wealth of love to kiss 
Their blooming mates, and swayed by gentle breeze 
Coquette gaily 'neath the whispering trees — 
Whose murmur'd songs, in cadence sweet and low, 
(Their rustling leaves) in concert hail the bow 
Which gives them budding life and beauteous form, 
And bears them strongly thro' each threatening storm. 



'Tis sweet to spend a contemplative hour 
In the recesses of a rustic bower. 
Shielded with clustering vines, sweet jessamine, 
Roses and honeysuckle, which entwine 
Their loving branches, and whose rich perfume 
Grows sweeter by each treasure they exhume; 
To wander thro' the overhanging grove 
And listen to the twittering words of love 
With which bright plumaged birds allure their choice 
To aid them in their song — in twain rejoice. 

To mount sky-kissing hills, and there review 
The wond'rous picture which the Almighty drew — 
The towering mounts, the gentle sloping dale, 
The lovely glen and peaceful sleeping vale, 
The winding brooks, and plashing, murm'ring streams, 
The emerald sea — whose mighty bosom gleams 
And sparkles in the sun's meridian rays — 
A cause of gratitude and endless praise 
To Him whose lavish hands has fashioned thus 
This second paradise, and all for iia. 



52 Sensation Literature. 

' Tis sweet to commune with natures good and pure, 
And in our views of truth find something truer — 
Something we seldom find in natural shape, 
Which needs therefore an ideal hand to drape, 
That we may feel that rarest virtues shine 
In lustrous beauty, and this world entwine; 
Which animate the soul to emulate 
Such rich perfection — or, at any rate, 
To admire an altitude it cannot reach 
And learn a lesson that it cannot teacli. 



Did novelists confine their highest pitch 
To points where no impediments could hitch 
'Twixt earth and heaven, they might etherealize 
Their wondrous pictures to the vaulted skies; 
But when they seek forbidden heights to scale, 
And steal an angePs dress to deck their tale 
Of wondrous purity, their ultra zeal 
Gains more disgust than love for its idpal, 
And men who, fondly loving virtuous women, 
Despise the pilfered attributes of heaven; 
For while one dreg remains of human nature 
It will contaminate the purest creature. 
And those who 're steeled by life to truth and reason 
Judge every natural fraud as moral treason. 
But when these subjects are the novelist's theme, 
However overdrawn or stale they seem, 
They do not tend to taint and vitiate 
Thp' oflf'ring little worth to appreciate, 



Sensation Literature. 53 

And with small patronage — less commendation — 
Live and die without much condemnation. 



But ye who build " sensation story^' fame, 
And gain a paltry tho' notorious name 
For pand'ring to the worst desires of nature — 
Painting sin, and gilding every feature 
Which might disgust the inexperienced youth 
Who eagerly devours each lie as truth — 
Whose ''ghosts^'' disport in every shape and guise 
Before his vacant mind and glaring eyes ; 
''Demons and imps" of worse than hell's invention 
Chaining his intellect in wrapt attention, 
And deeds of horror, tales of crime and blood — 
A demoniacal and sickening brood, 
Which float as ghastly phantoms o'er his brain 
'Till semi-idiotcy his mind enchain — 
Deserve the highest censure; deepest curse 
On every cent that swells your well filled purse. 

These "writers" waste their most pernicious brains 
In robbing others' wits t' increase their gains, 
Counting no other cost than printer's ink, 
And care not tho' a thousand souls may sink 
In the abyss of crime from their tuition 
So Ihey escape the brunt of its fruition. 
I knew a " case," and there are many such, 
Altho' our Christian friends don't heed them much. 
In which a youth of promise early sought 
^forbid excitement, where such things are taught 



J4 Sensation Literature. 

As supernatural stories, tales of " ghosts," 

And awful earthly power of " demon hosts," 

"Thrilling adventures," and the num'rous trash 

Which crowd the book stalls in a race fof cash. 

The more he read the more he wished to read, 

And every leisure hour was wont to feed 

His fast disordered mind with nervous fire. 

Until its lurid gleams could rise no higher, 

Then burst their bonds and left him staring mod ! 

In moral darkness, and to reason dead. 

This is a fact, and many daily tread 

The same sad track, till life's best gift has fled 

To such an extent as surely robs the mind 

Of all pure attributes of true mankind. 

When woman falls a snare to this foul blot 
Her reputation is not worth a jot, 
And tho' her nature seeks more sentiment 
Than hideous pictures, still its vile intent 
Robs her of all that makes her worth the name 
Of wife and mother — turns her pride to shame; 
And greatest duties meeting sad neglect. 
Her person gains no longer men's respect; 
Husband and children, all domestic cares 
Are washed away in maudlin, senseless tears, 
Shed for a baseless vision, void of good. 
And to the purest nature noisome food. 

Weak woman's nature craves what man rejects- 
Who scorns an ideal life, which she respects — 



Sensation Literature. 55 

Because his contact and combat with life 
Dispels ethereal dreams thro' actual strife — 
Leaves liim no time to play with moral fools 
And con their vicious texts in Fiction's schools — 
Because his mind is formed for xmrh and/ac^, 
And every passing phase conspires to act 
In opposition to the weak attempt 
Of visionary minds to coax, and tempt 
His reasoning powers to play a second part, 
And pander to the weakness of his hmrt. 

But woman, much secluded, left at leisure, 
Has oft naught to engage her mind but pleasure, 
And, if pernicious " books " are in her reach, 
She'll sacrifice her mind and time to each 
Until its influence becomes narcotic, 
And she, wrapt in it, simply idiotic. 
That is loeak-minded souls, who have a share, 
Enough of simple brains, but none to spare. 

True women I admire and dearly love. 
And would not wound their hearts, or seek to move 
One glist'ning tear, or earn a just reproach 
By one hard utterance, or to approach 
Their persons, lives or names, in act or word, ^ 
But with respect and tenderest regard — 
And such will freely, willingly endorse 
This painful picture, if not paint it worse. 

I've seen these literary persons sit 
Like statues in an apoj^lectic Jit; 



56 Sensation Literature, 

Their rigid forms would give a sudden start, 

Their eyes protrude, their ashen lips would part, 

And every feature witness the intense 

Delight they felt in losing all their sense. 

Wrapt in the folds of pages "red with gore," 

They shiver, then perspire at every pore. 

While ever and anon a sickly laugh 

Will follow maudlin tears. If bold enough 

To address them you will find them querulous — 

Try to detract them, 'tis but perilous — 

They mutter '' 3^es " and " no." '' Oh bother !" " Don't," 

As if to snap and snarl it was their wont; 

And when at last reluctantly they fold 

The "paper" thus a conversation hold :' 

" How Harry Noodle fell in love with Maud, 

" Who loved instead a certain Willie Laud ; 

" And Harry, when rejected, fired with evil, 

"Swore he'd send poor Willie to the devil; 

" So sought him out and cut his wretched throat, 

" Then cursed his own poor brains and blew them out! 

"At which Miss Maud fell sick and tried to die, 

" But lived instead and married on the sly. 

" Her husband proved a drunkard — broke her head, 

" Then, in delirium tremens put to bed, 

'' Passed quite a lively time with phantom hosts, 

*' And bolted off at last with other ghosts. " 

And then they make the affecting declaration 

How much it did excite their admiration ; 

While all around, in slovenly profusion, 

Are littered household goods, in blank confusion ; 



Sensation Literature. 57 

And the}^ perhaps the most confused, arise 
To close in sleep their weary aching eyes, 
And blissfully impart to walls and chairs 
T\\Q\v further dreams for want of better ears. 



Forty per cent, of all the " magazines " 
Feed the rising generation in their teens 
With food which ne'er digests, but turns to rot, 
And makes the cheapest purchase dearly bought. 
'Tis true they oft considerately allot 
A space to '' Household Treasures," " Facts," and dot 
The pages here and there with trifling " Essays" 
And borrowed jottings — jokes in ancient dresses — 
Or touch upon some really truthful theme ; 
But this is all the "good" that may redeem 
Their character from absolute disgrace 
And help to cover stains they can't erase. 
And even '' Pulpit men " of wide repute — 
" Servants of Christ !" make up and follow suit ; 
'' Contribute,^' to this cause of anti-truth. 
Which mars the happiness of fervent youth. 
Thus, those who should be most opposed to evil, 
Neglect, their Master's work to serve the devil. 

Precious wasted hours will ne'er return. 
Nor Avill the useful lessons men might learn 
When youth is supple, and whose future joy 
Is sacrificed for what ? an ideal toy. 
That pleases for an hour ; but, cast aside, 
Retains its influence, and will deride. 



Q^ 



58 



Sensation Literature. 



In time, his efforts to secure a prize 
In life's hard lottery, ihrd' tinted lie.-f. 

For once the mind becomes a morbid slave 
To baseless notions life becomes a grava*, 
AVhere present aerial hopes must sink at last, 
A fit memorial to a misused past. 

May he or she who reads these Inunble lines. 
However little merit in them shines, 
Ponder well their truth, and if it save 
One fellow creature from this moral grave, 
My work is done, my recompense is great; 
'Tis all I ask; God grant it — soon or late. 



flioion. 




URE, priceless gem, whose lustre never wanes; 
Source of all earthly joys; whose pow'r enchains 
Our souls in the bonds of love, delight and peace, 
Decking the hardest couch with softest ease; 
Whose moral influence can best assuage 
The fires of j^outh, and check the strongest rage 
Which leads the soul to spread its wings and soar 
To realms where it would fain return no more ; 
Where, realizing heaven's abounding love, 
Longs when that still small whisper from above 
Shall breathe the message from Emmanuel's throne 
That Nature to Death's fiat must atone. 



Happy the man who, blest with light divine, 
The problem of existence can define. 
Penetrate the mysteries of his state, 
And link with Providence the law oi fate; 
And, 'mid the principles of mortal life, 
Its moral force and fierce internal strife, 



6o Religion, 

Its gloomy sorrows, transient fleeting joys, 
Its solid basis and its trivial toys, 
Has one great object, one great hope to gain — 
One bright eternal promise to attain. 

This temporary life must fade away, 
And all its valued joys must soon decay ; 
How soon — how late — the hour will come at last 
When earth's long lingering destiny is past. 
And God's most noble work must yield its trust 
And turn again to earth — its kindred dust. 

The noble intellect, the powerful frame. 
The splendid talent and the mighty fame. 
The kindling eye, the heart's swift beating pulse, 
The steady purpose, and the warm impulse; 
The love and anger — passion's fitful sway — 
The fire of youth, each vivid quickening ray 
Which lights the lamp of life, must fade and wane, 
And lose its ever}^ vestige, but to gain 
A nobler casket and a brighter gift — 
A substance offered for a dream bereft. 

Oh, Godl that man, thy handiwork and pride. 
Should scorn Religion, and its claims deride; 
Reject its counsels, ridicule its worth. 
Blind to all attributes except of earth. 
A living soul, but animated clay, 
Without a hope beyond an earthly day; 
Who lives for self, for lust, for sensual joys; 
Whose wordly dreams all hope of heaven destroys, 



Relio-ion. 6i 



•^ 



When could they feel, for one short dwelling hour, 
Religion's sweet, enrapt, inspiring powQi" — 
Hold sweet communion with its melting charms, 
Rest for one moment in its loving arms — 
Sip but one drop of nectar from its fount 
Of joy, compassion, mercy — feebly mount 
One step to heavenward bliss, they'd barter all 
Life's longest span that moment to recall. 

Ah ! none can tell the joy Religion gives 
But he who loves and in its influence lives. 
The cup of life ma}^ overrun with gall 
But God's most precious mercy sweetens all. 
Dejected to despair, distressed with care. 
Crushed with affliction, burdened much with fear, 
The world's horizon may be dark with clouds, 
Which with a gloomy veil all comfort shrouds; 
Infirmities may compass flesh and mind. 
And grief and sorrow vainly seek to find 
Some antidote from earth for earthly pain. 
Or in its many evils hope to gain 
A listening ear, a sympathetic friend, 
Or distant promise of a coming end. 

But there the Almighty shows his boundless love, 
And sends us stores of comfort from above. 
'Tis then our chastened spirits dwell with God, 
Recipients of His mercy dealing rod, 
And then we feel our need of something more 
Than man can offer from his meagre store. 

Religion is not learned by worldly good 
From costly divans, epicurean food. 



62 Relio-ion. 



<b 



Unbridled luxury and pompous wealth 

Nor gained by bribery or treacherous stealth; 

'Tis no criterion of great estate, 

Of education, or a well filled pate, 

Nor the essential point in scholarship 

Of solid reason, or a temperate lip ; 

' Tis not dependent on morality, 

On fleshly feasts nor high hilarity, 

On penances, great sacrifice or cheer. 

Or reckless daring and excessive fear ; 

'Tis not an index from amoral sphere, 

To lead its votaries to find it there, 

Nor yet the pinnacle of earthly fame. 

And of a so-called great, immortal name; 

One man may soar above ten millions more, 

And yet, in God^s best mealth, be worse than poor 



All earthly pomp, pride, arrogance and show. 
And altitude of power, must meekly bow — 
The siren joy of life, its sensuous smile 
Masking with luring charms a heart of guile — 
All earthly schemes, all sordid, selfish ends. 
Bright, airy visions — every hope that tends 
To centre life in se/f must suffer loss 
Ere man can fitly bear the Saviour's cross; 
And then Almighty love, when nought remains 
Of earthly bliss, a thousand fold sustains 
The fainting heart and sorrow stricken soul. 
And makes a shattered part a blessed whole. 



Religion. 63 

Religion is a gift — the gift of grace — 
Offered unfettered to the human race. 
Cod asks no price nor recompense from man 
Except that each shall strive the best he can 
To keep the casket pure, and best adorn 
The spotless gem which His own breast has worn. 
That each may see, and seeing may admire 
The Christian's badge, and earnestly aspire . 
To emulate a work whose zeal and power 
Grows but the stronger with each fleeting hour ; 
That adds a lustre to a worth 3^ name. 
To moral worth high eminence and fame, 
Beautifies the best of earth's perfection, 
Mirrors heaven's charms in sweet reflection; 
Adds a mortal spark to heavenly light, 
And proves its moral power hy doing right. 

Good ivorks must ever bear an evssential part 
Where godliness has graced the human heart ; 
But Christians seek to emulate their God, 
And ask no merit from an earthly good, 
Content that none should know or even guess 
That they were made an instrument to bless 
The weary soul, the wounded, sick and sore, 
And aid the needy from their meagre store ; 
To cheer and comfort those oppressed with care. 
And calm the spirit, faint with boding fear. 
His deeds of mercy, generous works untold 
And noble nature — best of earthly mould — 
May pass unrecognized amid the throng 
Of those who tread the paths of right and wrong ; 



64 Religion. 

But registered in lieaven each deed is known 
Which gains at last a bright immortal crown. 

But still Religion has another /?'{e7ic? — 
A seeming angel, but at heart a fiend — • 
The hypocrite — the basest, meanest cheat, 
Fawns and cringes at its blessed feet, 
Because he knows the power it will sustain 
With men of worth and reckons well its gain. 

With craft enough to see its tendency 
To gain respect, and much ascendancy 
With men of merit, mind — of course of wealth — 
Procures its vestures by insidious stealth 
To serve perfidious ends and cloak a lie, 
A fraud — nay, crimes of nature's deepest dye — 
With a disguise of saintly purity. 
Affecting zeal and lowly piety. 

But e'en thei^e people serve a better end, 
And to Religion's prestige 'prove a friend ; 
For seeking to disguise their true aspect 
Beneath its ample folds, they show respect 
For virtues they- are forced to don by fraud, 
Lest their true intentions show too broad. 
These vot'ries to Religion's holy shrine 
As valued, useful members ever shine 
In churches where the truth of God is made 
A servant to the source whence ino^t is paid — 
Where fleshly teachings puff with paltry pride. 
Which devils foster, pamper, tho' deride. 

Should Bishop So-and-so describe a case 
Of charity, by which their Christian grace 



Religion, 65 

May be enhanced by further commendation, 
They will respond with ample contribution; 
Thus gain the world's applause as generous men, 
Earn sycophantic praise, and tongue and pen 
Attest their wond'rous, open-hearted zeal 
In giving what they'd ten times rather steal. 
Should none but God perceive the deprivation, 
And He alone demand a reparation, 
. The baser, meaner crime, the richer unction — 
Greater ill inflicted, least compunction — 
For while " Religion " can be bought with gold, 
And keeps on par xoith men by whom His sold, 
They glide to hell with very much distinction, 
'Till there their virtues meet with sharp extinction; 
And, 'mid the freaks of Nature's crafty skill. 
Which patches up the meanest type of ill, 
Really the worst disguise of fraud extant 
Is Satan's own conception — fulsome canf. 

While Truth exists, and Purity sustains . 
An honored place with men of worth and brains, 
These "creeping things,'''' of most obnoxious mould, 
Which denizen the lowest moral world. 
Will missile men with one eternal rant — 
Grovelling meekness and infernal cant. 

These " Christians " tell you how '' their spirit " yearns 
Towards the "dear Saviour;" how their "bosom burns" ^ 
With love and adoration for the Lamb — 
Their " gentle Jesus" — paint the great I AM 
As meekly ministering to their " precious soul ;" 
Themselves as spotless vessels, pure and whole. 



66 Religio7t. 

Watch tliem at church, and note the pzous zeal 
With which they pray, respond, arise and kneel, 
Gazing upon their pastor's genial face 
With sanctimonious looks, brimful of grace. 
Then nod the head, or wag it to and fro, 
To signify to Brother So-and-so 
How well they understand, how sweetly hear 
Mere fleshly words, which make " their case" so clear. 
But when the service ends, mark well how strange 
A transformation scene betokens ^^ change f 
They shift and fumble, show a dollar bill, 
That all ma}^ see the power, so judge the will ; 
But when the plate is passed the bill is dropped. 
And then a ten cent stamp is quickly popped 
Amongst a goodly pile of "contribution," 
Which saves the church at least from destitution; 
Or, more discreet, they get their full of grace, 
Then quietly rise and meekly quit the place, 
To save their conscience from a sin so grave 
As buying what their Master freely gave. 
Then, linked with some " dear brother" — sainted friend- 
With solemn " Christian" gait they homeward bend, 
And in the " spirit" pleasantly commune. 
Or as the " spirit moves" so change their tune: 

" Brother, what did you think of that discourse 
" Of Dr. Cash ? You heard him well, of course; 
" I never felt so lifted up before 
''And much refreshed; and in that precious hour 
" He suited me exactly — made it plain 
" That Pm a chosen vessel, void of stain. 



Religion. 67 

"And what few sins I emr did commit 

" Were pardoned ; that I carried Christ's permit 

" To pass me thro' this barren wilderness 

"Straight to the promised land; and I confess 

" That, as on Saturday I took my rents, 

" I helped the blessed cause wii\\—fift]j cents." 

" But did you notice that young minx, Miss Dash ? 
"It is a sin to come to church so 'flash;' 
" She never pays for what she buys; I'm sure, 
" For tho' she dresses fine she's very poor. 
" Her ' pa ' is but a clerk, and she, Ihdar, 
" A teacher for a paltry sum per year. 
" And then to make a show — presuming creature — 
" She laid two dollars in the plate. I hate her !" 

" Quite right," says Brother Snuffle, " very true; 
" I always sympathize with such as you. 
" And notice Mrs. A., who looks so meek, 
" She only paid me half her rent last week; 
" She says her child is sick, her work is slack, 
" And sundry things conspire to throw her back. 
" That I cannot help; and, beg or borrow, 
" She must paj^ me down my rent to-morrow. 
" She always has enough for charity, 
"But there, I think, is great disparity — 
" For, if 'tis true it should begin at home, 
" She'd better pay her debts. But, brother, come, 
" We will not talk of that this Sabbath night; 
" 'Tis true they 're in a very sorry plight. 
" I thank the Lord He's made me differ much 



68 Religion, 

''In mind, and soul, and worldly goods, from ?.uch, 
" Who must be sinful else they'd not be poor, 
" And torment Christian people every hour." 

"But still there's Mrs. B., who's always smiling; 
" I've heard she's half her time beguiling 
" In practicing before her looking-glass — 
"Indeed, I see her there whene'er /pass — 
" And tho' by some she's counted quite a saint, 
" Her color must be false — I'm su7'e 'tis paint. 
" She don't look Christianlike, and what is more, 
" She never prays- — -at least I never saw her.^^ 

'' On Sunday last I heard old Parson Plain — 
" A dreadful man — I will not go again. 
" He was wipimis, spoke of hell and damn, 
''And said our principles were all a sham; 
" That we were sinners, vile, unclean and base, 
" Instead of Christian people, saved by grace; 
" Said that long prayers were hateful in the eyes 
" Of Him who judges wholesome truth from lies, 
" And public piety was oft a guise 
" Concealing evil deeds with canting lies, 
" And other awful things I dare not mention 
*' Lest you believe I have some bad intention. 
"But now we're home, 6?ea?' friend, pray just step in 
" And take, as usual, a glass of gin." 

So now — three spirits join in blissful talk — 
We'll deem \i prudent to resume our walk. 
And ask no pardon for our sketch; in fact 
It should be more severe to be intact, 



Religion. 69 

These frauds on every precept good and pure 
Grow ten times worse ere they become mature; 
Tlius " grow in grace" till God's eternal fiat 
Bids their prating be for ever quiet. 



True piety shines hes.i in Christian women — 
Fit emblems of the purity of heaven. 
A lowly spirit, meekness of the dove; 
A grand devotion, rich in faith and love; 
A blessed charity and feeling heart, 
In generous sympathy, all bear a part 
(A pungent antidote to earthly ill) 
In making lovel}^ woman lovelier still. 
This child of God devotes each precious hour 
As ministering angel to the sickly poor. 
To cheer the hopeless, succor the distressed, 
Ease the suffering and relieve the oppressed. 

The noblest laurels ever won and worn 
Are thine, dear friend, to heighten and adorn 
A life of love — to which no earthly crown 
Could add one lustre, glory or renown. 

The noblest song that poet ever sung, 
Or struck from sweetest lyre e'er yet strung, 
Fails to record thy virtues, love and worth, 
Which shed their radiance o'er this sinful earth 
Bu4 if an humble instrument like me 
Presumes to add one tribute more to thee. 
May God permit it may serve some good end. 
If but the brief response of one dear friend. 



!|nirtirHl fbn. 





ow tlup universe teems with " Practical Men," 
Who scorn the theorist's soul inspired pen; 
Who laugh at the glowing and eloquent fire 
Which burns in his bosom, and know no desire 
But to stxidy themselves and their own selfish ends; 
Whose climax of happiness solely depends 
On a snug little balance from " profit and loss" 
And other small treasures of practical dross. 
Puffed up with importance inflated conceit. 
With dull plodding mind and lead laden feet, 
A stern cut face and an adamant heart. 
With these " Practical Men " must each bear a part. 
Thus the plea of the poor but closes his purse 
With a snap and a snarl — it may be a curse. 

" Take example, my friend, be a Practical Man; 
"I give my advice — get the rest as you can. 
" My purse is well filled, my health is rol)ust, 
" My mind is contented, my dealings are just; • 



Practical Men. 71 

" I need no assistance, and ask no respect, 
" The world is welcome to give and reject; 
"I work to make money, and make it I can, 
"And keep it as well — like a Practical Man. 
''Do you the same; if you don't 'tis your fault — 
• " You are but a nuisance, unworthy your salt." 

Thus talks our would he fine practical brother, 
Whose sympathy 's dead to the woes of another; 
Who looks with contempt on a poor stricken wretch 
On the verge of starvation, to coolly fetch 
A grunt of disgust, that Nature should give 
So useless an object permission to live. 
Wrapped up in himself, he cares not a straw 
For aught in creation save lucre and law. 

The youth's aspirations, his castles in air, 
His visions of life, unsullied and fair. 
His bright happy dreams and worshipped ideal, 
Which coming events might junction witli real; 
His generous impulse to do and to dare, 
To banish all features of sorrow and care, 
With his soul beaming over with beautiful trust 
In the faith of mankind — the reward of the just — 
Nay, freighted with all tliat makes life worth tlie gift, 
Will anon of existence be grimly bereft. 
Should i\iQ^Q practical fellows receive but a chance 
To pierce his warm heart with their withering lance. 
For the glories of science and beauties of art. 
Which to men of true nature are joys of the heart, 



72 Practical Men, 

For sweets of Religion — exaltation of prayer 
And holy communion — they have not a care, 
But are merely 2, fraud on life's meanest span, 
kw^ii pilfer the title of " Practical Man" 
To garnish their sins with a false shallow gold 
That naught will refine, be they ever so old, 

There is lowness in Virtue and meekness in Power, 
And Genius shelters in Modesty's bower. 
The rich may be humble, the wise be content 
To ask no reward for great energies spent. 
Aye, a man with the cardinal virtues- all told 
In the midst of life's blessings may stand in the cold. 
But men of small calibre — meanness of mind — 
To the best part of Nature remorselessly blind, 
Who have nothing to offer, much less to give 
In return for the gift of their Maker, to live 
Know no higher mission than centres in self, 
Which opens the portals of bargain and pelf — 
Esteem themselves solely as models of worth, 
And chief in the rank of the homage of earth. 

But true Practical Men, whose contest with life 
Has steeled them to reason — whose veteran strife 
Has rendered them lessons of practical truth, 
Which can temper and chasten irrational youth ; 
Who will wisely provide for a dull " rainy day" 
And still sip the pleasures of life while they may; 
Systematic in action, in judgment correct, 
Sober in reason and prone to reflect. 
Nobly deserve that each tongue and each pen 
Shall yield them full honors a^ "Practical Men,'' 




OR, SHOKT vs. LONG DRESSES 




(T HE vagaries of Fashion are enough, beyond all 
question, 
To spoil the mildest temper and ruin the diges- 
tion. 

Some ladies are persistent in refusing to admit 
Much claim to common sense — merits judgment not a 

whit. 
I could tell a lengthy story, but prefer to cut it short — 
"As you would pref(?r our dresses," the ladies may retort. 
Well — yes — j^er^haps I would, tlio' dare not say the word 
But relate a conversation I lately overheard. 

Two Broadway belles collided — one short, the other 

tall- 
Dressed in the latest fashions, and a-Za-waterfall. 
After mutual addresses, and usual caresses, 
Their regards were quickly turned from their faces to 

their dresses. 



74 Fashion's Vagaries. 

'' My dear," said Lady Sliort, " your dresp seems out of 

fashion," 
''If you have not read the styles I tender my com- 
passion, 
" Half a yard or more is added to the dresses once de 

tropj 
"And you see /follow Fashion, for Fashion should be 

law." 
Said Lady Tall,with kindling eye, "I need no information, 
" I equal you in knowledge as I equal you in station; 
" I wear my dresses short for the shoyi and simple 

reason 
" That they are more elegant, and adapted to the season. 
" Whenever Fashion nonsense quotes, tlio' other ladies 

bear it, 
" I need not aid its efforts, and I surely will not luearit. 
*' My dress is not a scavenger, to sweep a dirty street, 
" To impede me in my motions and — ahem ! to hide my 

feet ; 
"And another reason is — well, perhaps you may infer it — 
"We always have acknowledged that the gentlemen 

prefer it." 
Miss Short had listened patiently, but with a gathering 

frown. 
And with a rising effort to keep her temper down 
Said she, " You may be right in a part of your defence, 
"But I deprecate your hint that I lack in common 

sense. 
" The season, I admit, is advancing — so am I — 
"And am following Church fashion, which is not quite 

so high. 



Fashion^ s Vagaries, yj* 

''Long dresses arc more modest and more graceful, all 

admit, 
" And are warmer far in winter than the loind ahoiit the 

feet. 
" Tho' gentlemen prefer, to criticise onr gaiters, 
''Jf Fashion should forbid they may chafe until they 

hate us. 
"As to sweeping on the roads — Fashion does but aid 

the law, 
"And shames our ill contractors, iclio never sweep at all. 
''But then such talk is nonsense — / can avoid the dirt, 
" And injure not a thread — by holding up my skirt. 
"Your arguments are fair; but, in fact, they lack in 

strength 
" What your notions want in style and your garments 

lack in length." 
"I perceive," replied the other, "that 'tis useless to 

prolong 
" The subject any further — but truly you are wrong. 
" Some, tho' they are convinced, if convinced against 

their will, 
" Pleased with their own opinion they will retain it 

still. 
"Fashion is no guide when judgment is rejected, 
" Common sense ignored, and sound advice rejected, 
" Ere long you will discover that your care to hide 

two feet 
" Will end in dragging six along the crowded street, 
" And when you find another tear the whole from off 

your back, 
" You may regret the step which followed such a track. 



76 



Fashion's Vagaries, 



I study others' comfort and still secure my own ; 
While you, who study Fashion, stand selfishly alone 
Long dresses may be graceful, but in walking I desire 
My hands and feet at liV)erty ; nor do I much admire 
To see a lady occupy the path for full three yards, 
' While gentlemen detest the style which business 

haste retards; 
If Fashion runs in Folly's wake and you add to its 

train, 
' I disregard its weak attempt to steal away my brain." 




• 




[r OD helps those who help themselves, 

Who brace the nerves for work, 
And face the world with firm resolves- 

They will no duty shirk — 
Who, having faith in^Providence,. 

Still in themselves have trust, 
And scorn to gain by mean pretence. 

Or cat a .beggar's crust. 



II. 



The course of life is strewn with thorns, 

But flowers sweetly blend, 
And many a resting place adorns 

It ere we reach the end. 
And tho' we meet with powerful foes, 

Who intercept our pace, 
We shall recline in calm repose 

If we but win the race. 



y8 Help Yourselves. 



III. 



The time is short, 'twill soon bo o'er, 

And life's warfare shall cease; 
Then he who suffered values more 

The boon of perfect peace, 
The pass of life is '' Go ahead !" 

Work with untiring zeal, 
For all must lie upon the bed 

They make — of woe or weal. 

IV. 

Some men presume that God has cast 

Their destiny in moulds 
Which break with every furnace blast, 

And wreck the life it holds. 
So fold their hands with meek resolve 

Their portion to endure. 
And thus with blind reliance solve 

The mystery whij theifre poor. 

V. 

Each mortal lives himself to make, 

And not to wholly trust 
On miracles, that he may take 

What others leave to rust; 
To boldly face the foes of life. 

And manfully appease 
Its war of sorrow, care and strife, 

'Till lighting brings him peace. 



Help Yourselves, 79 



VI. 



Tlic world is cold, and stern, and hard 

To those Avho shrink with fear 
From boldly seeking the reward 

Which vet'ran soldiers share; 
And heaven pities not the man 

Who fears his fellow's eye, 
And that to do the best he can 

He thinks is but to die. 

VII. 

Our Infinite Creator's hands 

Formed the vast universe, 
And every element withstands 

An idler with a curse. 
The great ordeal of life is ivork, 

Of stern laborious cast, 
And woe to him who cares to lurk 

In corners of the past. 

VIII. 

For man was l3orn to live and learn, 

And mould each passing hour, 
That for each thorn it shall return 

An everlasting flower; 
And he who does reject the task 

Will e'er in gloom repine, 
That life is but a hideous mask 

Which he cannot define. 



8o 



Help Yourselves. 



IX. 

God marked our course and formed the mind, 
And every feature noted, 

That to some duty to mankind 
Each portion be devoted. 

To firmly crush each bulwark placed 
To intercept our mission, 

And not believe that it is based 
TJpQu the world! 8 permission. 



X. 

Altho' our souls we cannot save, 

Or realize our state, 
When death shall lay us in the grave 

And close the book of fate, 
We still can Work with ardent zeal 

To till the joys of earth, 
And boldly stand while others kneel 

And plead their lack of worth. 



Jritith. 




HE heart may grow weary of le.s.sons of woe, 
And the body may quail at eaeh ehasteiiiiig blow, 
But eourage ! dear friend, tho' yiek unto death, 
(3^ Ne'er cease to remember the lesson of Faith — 
That glorious boon, 
Which later or soon 
Will infuse us with immortal breath. 

II. 

Have faith in thyself, hnve faith in thy God ; 
Have faith in His love and His chastening rod; 
Have faith in thy mission; have faith in thy life; 
Have faith in its joys; still have faith in its grief. 

The tale is soon told; 

Youth soon must be old, 
And bid a farewell to its strife. 

III. 

When the terrors of doubt thy soul may suspend, 
And ye auger with fear that new evils forefend — 



82 Faith. 

Whon thy portion is bitter, tliy joys have collapsed, 
'Tis but for a period, which, when elapsed, 

The hands which oppress 

The life with distress 
Shall yet be entirely unclasped. 

IV. 

Let Hope, its sweet sister, unite thee with Faith, 
That the sharp crown of thorns may give place to a 

[wreath, 
xind the sun of inuvtaliUj still ever shine 

With a beautiful promise 

Of joy and surprise 
In the riches which yet will be thine. 



When the storms of adversity scatter thy hopes, . 
And fair fickle Fortune with })romisc elopes, 
And the seeds of affliction take root in her place, 
It is not dishonor — it is not disgrace; 

Have faith in the end 

That flowers will blend, 
xAnd all its rank herbage replace, 

VI. 

But Faith without irorks is a fragile belief. 

And its fragile conceptions will e'er come to grief. 

To have faith in a purpose, but use not the mean!* 

By which earthly substance shall gender from dreams 



Faith. 83 

Is an idle pastime — 
Nay, a grave moral crime, 
But an error whicli ne'ertlieless teems. 

VII. 

To have faith in the blessings of God we must work, 
Lest the gales of theory shatter our bark. 
With Hoi)e as our anchor, and FaitU as our cross, 
Let us e'er steer our course thro' danger and loss, 

And buffet the billows. 

Not use them as pillows 
To lay our Ijroad shoulders across. 

VIII. 

And when dangers thicken, and darkness surround, 
Obscuring the haven for which we are bound. 
Let Faith never wane, and labor ne'er cease, 
And the end sliall be rich with the harvest of peace; 

Then God will sure bless 

With a holy caress — 
That chaos of ills will appease. 

IX. 

When death shall at last claim thy shadow of life. 
And bring to thy spirit immortal relief, 
Precious Faith will sustain thee, and nobly will bear 
Thy glad ransomed soul to that paradise where • 

Sweet angels await, 

At the heavenly gate. 
With the pure golden crown thou shalt wear. 





EE yon guiding star in the sombre horizon, 
Shedding silvery light o'er the gloom of a prison, 
Where mortals lie bound in the fetters of sin — 
Where sorrow and grief seem forever shut in — 
How sweetly it beams, 
How radiant gleams, 
With a glow that is ne'er on the wane. 

II. 

Whence is it, poor pris'ner, and what is its name ? 
And why should it lure thee from sorrow and shame ? 
Guide thy faltering steps to a haven of rest. 
When the sun's last beams touch the brow of the West — 

When glory of light 

Weds the gloom of the night. 
And thy soul is so sorely oppressed ? 

III. 

Watch its lingering touch on that poor weary head, 
Bowed with sickness ai>d care on a pain stricken bed, 



Hope, 85 

With a halo of gloiy refulgeiitly bright, 
Transforming affliction to joy and delight — 

A luminous shower 

Of enduring power, 
Of glorious prismatic light. 

IV. 

Watch yon golden haired mother, in sickening fear. 
Whom Fate cruelly holds 'tween a smile and a tear; 
Whose darling first born, in its infancy's charms, 
Lies fading, near dying, in love twining arms; 

What glorious vision 

Invokes a revision 
Of death,, and her agony calms y 



'Tis a sweet, soothing message from spirits on high, 
That her loved treasure will surely not die — 
Bourne sweetly and swift on that eloquent ray 
Which the hand of Despair tries so vainly to stay — 

'Tis that glimmering star, 

Which sheds from afar 
The bright budding promise of day. 

VI. 

When compassed around with legions of woe, 
And wearily seeking to weaken the foe — 
When storms of affliction and sorrow assail, 



86 



Hope. 



And our energy flags, and our strength seems to fail, 

Inspiringly bright 

That sweet satellite 
Will guide us from valley to dale. 



VII. 



That radiant star in the glimmering east 
Is the spirit of Hope that our trou])le has eeased — 
Whose sweet dwelling presence new visions impart, 
And faith in whose promise brings J03" to the heart. 

Then ever hope on, 

'Till the glorious sun 
Of fruition shall bid us to part. 



iLltarilj). 




if RIM poverty stalks, uu misery bent, 

On cruel desolation and sorrow intent — 
The home it visits grows sadder in gloom, 
And shadows fall thick o'er each cheerless room, 
So hopeless and dreary, 
Its inmates grow weary 
Of life o'er which sorrows e'er loom. 

II. 

Sickness is busy, starvation is rife, 
And death is contending, to hasten the strife. 
Nature is cheerless — all hope has expired — 
The last gleam of joy has coldly retired, 

And each head is bowed low 

In communion of woe, 
And spectres grow hidous and weird, 

III. 

But now o'er the hearth sweet Charity's ray 
Beams sweetly' from heaven, so cheering and gay 



88 Charity. 

That sunken eyes beam and cold hearts grow warm, 
And a genial glow floods the cowering form 

Which hopefully waits, 

As a whisper abates, 
The parting refrain of the storm. 

IV. 

Sin has dismantled the beauties of youth, 
And evil weeds choked the blossams of truth; 
A tempter has crushed the virgin's birthright, 
And the fair head is hid from Purity's sight; 

What bitters she reaps, 

Poor child! How she weeps 
Thro' days and the long weary nights. 



But the world is cold — her sisters are pure; 
No evil has tempted their strength to endure. 
With lips curled in scorn, and heads turned away, 
With close gathered skirts they pass on their way; 

Strong men and fair maidens, 

Who happiness gladdens, 
Leave the fallen to weep and to pray. 

VI. 
But a hand outstretched draws a Ijeautiful veil 
O'er the grief bowed form, so lovely tho' frail, 
And with gentle caress o'er the bright golden hair 
Bids the fair one abandon grief and despair, 



Charity, 89 

And in Charity's arms 
Her agony calms, 
And a smile replaces a tear. 

VII. 

Charity! Lovely, refined and sublime," 

Thy presence can conquer the essence of crime. 

And mis-led youths find a chastening guide 

To sweetly save them from life's downward tide. 

May thy spirit e'er beam. 

As a beautiful dream. 
O'er bulwarks of hardness and pride. 

VIII. 

Oh! ye of the world, secure from its harm. 
When others are tempted refuse not the balm 
Which shall heal their wounds and cover their sin, 
That each fallen sister and brother begin 

To live life anew, 

And each blessing renew. 
That joy be forever let in. 






ife. 




EAR the martial note of the bugle proclaim 
That the soldier of valor, of honor and fame, 
Must gird up his loins for the battle of life. 
And boldly encounter its carnage and strife, 
Undaunted and brave. 
In the face of the grave, 
To echo the shout of his chief. 

II. 

" Onward !" still " Onward !" to do and to dare — 
Its trophies and dangers to win and to share; 
With thy motto emblazoned, thy banner unfurled, 
Storm the ramparts and forts of the hard callous world, 

And each enemy cast 

In the grave of the past, 
Where armies are already hurled. 

III. 

Tho' thy fellows their wounds and defeats may bewail. 
Still the world's moral forces with vi<2:or assail: 



The Soldier of Life. 91 

Lot tliy courage wax warm as tlio battle grows fierce; 
Tho' the lance of the foe thy bosom may pierce 

Still gallantly ou 

Till the victory's won, . 
Nor flee at the sound of reverse. 

IV. 

Thy Captain has bid thee to fight and endure, 
And suffer affliction, that life may be pure; 
That thy mind and thy soul shall be grandly refined, 
While all would be w(Ti"thless by lagging behind. 

Then onward forever, 

Till futurity sever 
Tlie bonds which mortality bind. 

V. 

Tho' thy heart may grow faint at each word of com- 
mand. 
By the standard of Hope ever valiantly stand, 
Till thy God shall reward thee with blessings of peace, 
And thy labors and warfare forever shall cease, 
And bright realms of bliss 
Greet thy soul with a kiss, 
And give thee eternal release. 



mt, %\mi Imw. 




ONG years have passed since childhood's home 
shadowed an ideal life, 
!^ And shed a halo 'round a head now l)ent with 
toil and strife; 
But thoughts will come of those sweet days when sor- 
row was unknown, 
And parents' fostering love enshrined a heart now sad 
and lone. 

Home! Home! Sweet, sweet Home! 
^is vain to seek, the wide world through, 
twin joys of childhood's home. 



II. 



Wanderers in this wilderness — face to the cold, hard 
world — 

Our motto, iho\ '' Excelsior " our banner, tho', un- 
furled. 



Home, Sweet Home, 93 

Amidst its triumphs, joys and griefs, wherever we may 

roam, 
No love so pure, no thought so sweet, as that of child- 
hood's home. 

Home! Home! Sweet, sweet Home! 
'Tis vain to seek, the wide world through, 
twin joys of childhood's home. 

III. 

The choicest gifts maturity can lavishly bestow 

Can never rend our memory from dear friends, who, now 

laid low. 
Once ministered life's holiest charms, which shed its 

hallowed rays 
Upon the happiest dream of life — Our childhood's home 

and days. 

Home! Home! Sweet, sweet Home! 
'Tis vain to seek, the wide world through, 
twin joys of childhood's home. 



t 



arrajjj)^. 



TO JOHN HORN, JR., PRES't KNICKERBOCKER LACROSSE CLUB. 




N the field of Lacrosse, on the field of Lacrosse, 

See opponents in battle array; 
Both honor and name, and glory and fame, 
Will 'pend on the issue to-da}^ 
Let the standard wave o'er champions brave. 

And each by his motto swear — 
Wage a gallant fight, with an arm of might, 
Then onward — to do and to dare. 



Watch the ball in its flight, like a spirit of light. 

Speed up from a glorious throw, 
On its mission sent, and to conquer intent. 

It answers a ready echo 
To the cheers of its friends, as its promise forefends 

The gain of the laurels of play. 
And in its repose both brothers and foes 

Clasp hands on the fate of the day. 



Lacrosse. 



9S 



The struggle is great, and the powers of Fate 

May waver at Victory's door, 
And, turning aside, will coolly deride 

The best cherished hopes of an hour. 
Then the echoes rebound, and the heavens resound 

With the shout that the battle is won; 
But the fallen in Lacrosse bear slightly the loss. 

For the laurel of all is " Well done.'' 



THE " LITTLE CHURCH 'ROUND THE CORNER." 

UPERSTITION darkens still this most enlightened age, 

)1) And bigotry stalks rampant with anti-pious rage, 

Denouncing and reviling, with sanctimonious ire, 

■^j The li])eral relations which all true men admire. 

Now some denominations of a much divided " Church " 

Assume their diff'ring brothers will be left in the lurch 

When God shall call the muster roll of sinners and of 

saints. 
And of its future destiny each anxious soul acquaints. 
But however bigotry may roar, and howe'er fierce its 

breath. 
Charity should close its mouth when life has closed in 

death; 
And, howe'er prejudice may reign, true godliness should 

dwell 
Where godliness has been " ordained" to save a soul 
from hell. 




The '^Little Church ' Round the Corner ^ 97 

George Holland lived, in men's esteem, in purity and 

truth, 
And not a slur lias crossed his fame from well known 

early youth ; 
Beloved by all who knew the man, admired by all who 

hung 
Delightedly upon the power and pathos of his tongue. 
A man of sterling moral cast, of ample frame of mind, 
And every attribute of truth and nobleness combined, 
When death dismissed his spirit from this temporary 

stage 
A " Clergyman" refused to ope' the burial service page; 
Refused the poor, cold, lifeless clay a Christian's last 

farewell, 
And, as an "Actor's" portion, doomed his noble soul to 

hell ! 
The sorrowing friends protested, the anguished mourn- 
ers wept; 

But the "Man of God" was callous, and the sad pro- 
cession left; 

Then a " Little Church 'Round the Corner "—an humble 

edifice — 
Received the outraged corpse with a spiritual kiss; 
Consigned the last remains of the Actor to the grave ^ 
With a prayer that God would claim him from Jordan's 
mystic wave. 
Thus may honor ever ])ind thee, both happy one and 

mourner, 
In bonds of love and union to that " Church Around the 

Corner." 

5 




OR, PRESENT AND FUTURE. 



xuBERANT beauties hail tlie dawn of day, 
The vesture of the earth is fair and gay, 
,%f' Sweet flowers unfold their tinted leaves to view, 
(TYq!) And greet the sunlight and the glist'ning dew. 
Dense forests in communion whisper words 
Of welcome; and bright plumaged, joyous birds « 
Thrill with melodious notes the vaulted sky, 
While soaring larks, lost to the human eye, 
En rapt the ear and fascinate the soul 
With melting streams of melody, which roll 
Thro' empty space, as 'twere an angel's voice, 
Bidding all living nature to rejoice. 

Fair children sport, in happy, thoughtless groups, 
Existing but in present joy and hopes. 
The mother, in the fulness of her love, 
Maternal pride and joy, lives but to prove 
Her hearts devotion to her child and spouse,' 
And make each day, from dawn until its close, 



War. 99 

A cradled happiness, to glad each heart, 

And to each nature generous joys impart. 

All sympathetic nature, every phase 

Of life is tinted by the beauteous rays 

Which gild the hour of peace. But now, alas! 

A change comes o'er the scene, and whispers pass 

From ear to ear, of ominous import. 

And soon there spreads the terrible " report" 

That joy must flee, and fondest hopes must yield 

Their dearest treasure to the blood stained field; 

That hearts must bleed, and bosoms rend with woe, 

While dear ones fall in death before the foe! 

For, some affront to arrogance and power 

Bids thousands die within a passing hour. 

And wash away the stain with streams of blood. 

While he who spills it, in a sullen mood, 

Looks on with callous eye and deadened care 

For all the crimes his evil work may bear. 

Fair lands are trampled 'neath the warrior's steed, 

And grandest beauties claim no moment's heed; 

Famine and pestilence grow swiftly rife, 

Crushing to death the noblest, strongest life. 

Grand structures, monuments of ancient skill, 
Are dealt destruction by the imperious will 
Of one great tyrant; while all nations wait. 
In stern, grim silence, the award of Fate. 

While nations reign, and power sustains its sway. 
War will ne'er cease to cloud the sunniest day. 
And carnivals of blood will madly urge 
Their myriad vot'ries to the awful verge 



loo War. 

Of agoii}^ and dciitli, from age to age, 

'Till death shall silence every warrior's rage; 

For, while evil lurks in human breast, 

'Twill ever strive, with vengeful ire, to wrest 

Each gift which Nature portions to the just, 

And seek to sacrifice, its dearest trust; 

Unscrupulous, ambitious aims will force 

Life's purest current from its peaceful course; 

And, were no hand upraised to intercept, 

Progress and civilization would be swept, 

By one relentless tyrant's vengeful breath, 

In the oblivion of moral death. 

So wars must wage, and warriors must arm 

To save an honored name and right from harm. 

And check the hordes which would imbue their hands 

In despoliation of the fairest lands. 

Thus France, whose conq'ring hosts beseiged the 
And e'er victorious, mightest despots hurled [world, 

From pinnacles of power to depths of shame, 
Humiliation, and of blasted fame, 
Now subjugated lies beneath the heel 
Of one she rashly deemed would meekly kneel. 
And render each concession on demand, 
Or else would fall beneath her upraised hand. 

For years her ships have spread the ocean's wave. 
And challenged foes her mighty strength to brave ; 
Her frowning forts were deemed impregnable 
To heaviest guns and storms of seething shell; 
Her mighty armies nations held in awe, 
Who, in her vaunted greatness, victory saw 



War. 101 

But years of peace wro't revelry and ease, 

And Paris reigned fur nought except to please 

Voluptuous sense; Science and Art imposed 

A tribute from all lands, and Fashion posed 

The ingenuity of all the earth 

To wrest her from the land which gave her birth; 

Bu£ the great vigor and majestic power 

Of martial strength waned with each fleeting hour. 

And when Napoleon arrogantly sought 

T' renew the task his predecessor taught. 

And forced the German vet'rans in the Held 

To combat for the rights they scorned to yield. 

His armies fled before the powerful arm 

O'er which great Justice held a with'ring charm. 

The Emperor, at Sedan, resigned his sword. 

And there the Empire fell, to be restored 

Refined and purged — but as an Empire reign 

Until legitimately it shall resign 

Its ancient honors, titles, name and fame — 

That grand Republic ^?-inc'ip/^ shall claim 

Its children as its lawful wards — till truth 

Shall dawn upon its free, unshackled youth. 

Thus '' Imperial France" has fallen at last, 
And all its pride and arrogance is past. 
The retribution due unholy deeds 
Sternly confronts her white she cruelly bleeds. 
"Invulnerable Paris," doomed by Fate 
To German legions to capitulate, 
Must lay her majesty upon the dnst, 
And bow her head, and eat the bitter crust. 



102 War. 

But may she rise and profit by the past, 
For, tho' an Empire still, she's nearing fast 
The day when Freedom shall ascend its throne 
And claim her wand'ring children as its own. 

But years must pass ere evils long instilled 
In corrupt soil, howe'er it may be tilled, 
Shall yield its tares, and full eared wheat replace 
The rank weeds fostered by a former race. 

Aye! Years must pass, and generations die, 
And mighty Truth long battle with a lie 
Ere Liberty proclaims that kings have lain 
Their sceptres down, and the firm soldered chain 
Which binds the human race as slaves to power 
Shall burst its bonds, and Freedom claim its dower. 
Then " La Grande Nation " shall receive its choice 
Without a murmur or dissenting voice — 
Its noble people weave a glorious thread. 
Which, borne on Freedom's wings, shall swiftly spre-ad 
O'er land and sea, until it shall unite, 
In everlasting bonds of might and right, 
With the Bepubijc of our ransomki) State.';, 
And open to the ivortdii^ long closed gates. 




|» M |'l«'"l»- 



RiENDSHiP we cry — tlie echo's mocking sound 
Replies thro' empty space — unlcnown— unfound! 
'ej How strict our search our labor may be lost, 
Except experience outset the cost; 
But 'neatli a bed of dross the jewel lies, 
Hid from the searching glance of many eyes, 
Diffusing purest germs of beauteous life — 
An antidote to all ii^s care and strife — 
E'en as the violet, on its mossy bank, 
Diffuses sweetness from a bed so rank 
That it might bloom unseen, and fade, and die, 
Did not its perfume point to where it lie, 
And, 'mid the vacillating hues which blend 
And tarnish the pure rays which angels lend 
To deck the nauK; of Friend, unnumbered beams 
Have crossed my checkered path as fitful dreams, 
And when reality was most intense 
The vision fled and left but vapid sense; 
But still some friends have stood each fiery test, 
And pass'd unscathed what scattered all the rest. 



104 



To My Friends, 



And ye who've proved yourselves my firm and true 
Unswerving friends, accept your simple due, 
My grateful tlianks, and earnest blessing on 
The many cherished kindness', ye have done — 
And when the sun of mortal life shall wane, 
And heaven claim its precious gift again, 
May eternal bonds unite our souls in love 
In the bright home of bliss prepared above. 




